A Single Payer System In New York State
The New York Health Act would ensure comprehensive universal healthcare for all New Yorkers, including primary, preventive and specialty care; hospitalization; mental health; substance use treatment; reproductive health; dental, vision and hearing; long-term care; prescription drugs; and medical supplies.
The ravages of COVID-19 made the need for universal healthcare more urgent than ever. We are facing multiple healthcare crises as we recover from the pandemic and must expand access to care, not reduce it.
State Senator Gustavo Rivera, who represents the Bronx and is chair of the Senate Health Committee, and Assembly Member Amy Paulin, who represents parts of Westchester and chairs the Assembly Health Committee, introduced the NY Health Act (A.6058/S.5474). The bill would bring a single-payer, Medicare for All system to New York, which would guarantee healthcare for every New Yorker. With this plan, the commercial insurance system would be replaced with a single-payer health plan, just as Medicare provides care to all Americans 65 and older or those with disabilities.
In July 2023, NYSNA nurses joined union colleagues from CIR-SEIU, state legislators, and community allies from Make the Road New York and Physicians for a National Health Program to celebrate the reintroduction of the New York Health Act (NYHA). Nurses know firsthand the cruelty of our current healthcare system and have been leaders in the movement for universal healthcare.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, spoke about her own experience as a nurse of over 35 years at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn: “I have seen patients suffer because they didn’t have health insurance, so they didn’t get the care that they needed. I have also seen patients who have health insurance suffer because they could not afford the cost of the high deductibles and co-pays, so they also didn’t get the care that they needed. It’s time to pass the New York Health Act!”
The NYHA would ensure comprehensive universal healthcare for all New Yorkers, including primary, preventive, and specialty care; hospitalization; mental health; substance use treatment; reproductive health; dental, vision, and hearing; long-term care; prescription drugs and medical supplies. This level of coverage is unprecedented in the United States but exists in many countries around the world. It is achievable here if we fight for it.
The New York Health Act has broad support across the state. New York's labor movement can lead the way in making universal, comprehensive health coverage a reality for every New Yorker.
Nurses will continue to advocate for all patients, and that means supporting a healthcare system that does not discriminate based on income.
NYSNA and our broad coalition of healthcare advocates are gearing up to push NYHA across the finish line. “In the richest country in the world, we must ensure every New Yorker has guaranteed healthcare and put patients before profits,” says Senator Rivera. The New York Health Act is “the only policy that will guarantee care for all New Yorkers and save our state money,” says NYSNA Central Regional Director Cathy Dawson, RN. “It’s a matter of life and death.
Check out the latest NYSNA Single Payer Committee newsletters to learn about the latest news and actions for healthcare for all.
Get involved by emailing the NYSNA Single Payer Committee at healthjustice4all@nysna.org or sign up to join the Healthcare for All action team.