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A majority of Democratic lawmakers have signed on to the New York Health Act, which would set up a state-level single-payer system. Supporters are hopeful that they might even bring the bill to a vote in the state Senate and Assembly this year, but making health care an entitlement for millions of New Yorkers is going to be expensive. The details of using federal Medicaid funding are complicated. Business groups warn their members can’t afford the increase in payroll taxes needed to make New York the first state to
Supporters have argued for years that the long-term benefits of a single-payer system are worth the short-term costs to individuals and businesses, but a Tuesday morning press conference highlighted how legislators, activists and business owners are increasingly focusing on dismantling the argument that businesses could not afford the taxes needed to provide health care to all. “There are lots of moral and ethical reasons to support the New York Health Act, but there are equally compelling business reasons to support it too,” said Sarina Prabasi, who runs three coffees shops in Manhattan. “It levels the playing fields for smaller businesses.”