Democrats in the New York Assembly are relaunching a push for a statewide single-payer health-care program in hopes that the national debate over health care will give their legislation new momentum.The "Medicare-for-all" bill-designed to provide health insurance to all state residents-passed the predominantly Democratic state Assembly on Tuesday afternoon following several hours of partisan back-and-forth on the chamber floor.
The bill has passed through the Assembly twice prior before stalling in the more conservative Senate, as it is expected to again.
But its sponsors said it has more support this year amid a move in U.S. Congress to repeal former President Barack Obama's signature health-insurance law.
A replacement for "Obamacare" is being hashed out in the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders proposed a single-payer system on a national scale during his 2016 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, giving the idea wider attention.
"We are now seeing a surge of support in New York for a Medicare-for-all system, and that's partly because the debate now going on in Washington makes it clear our problems with health care are not going to get solved, but will be made worse, by Washington," said Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, a Manhattan Democrat who has sponsored a single-payer bill for two decades.
The program would require some $90 billion annually in new tax revenue, analysts said. Mr. Gottfried said it would be partly funded through a progressive increase in state payroll taxes.
But Mr. Gottfried maintains even with the tax increase, New Yorkers would save money by getting rid of the premiums, copayments and administrative costs associated with private insurers.
The legislation could be a blow to health-insurance companies, and some legislators expressed concerns about the potential for job losses as a result.
Republicans in the Assembly, a minority of the chamber, pushed back on the bill.
"There's as noble endgame trying to be achieved here, and if it could work I would support it," said Assemblyman Andrew Raia, a Long Island Republican. "But when you're dealing with progressively graduated taxes, the rich have the ability to leave. What happens when all the sudden that tax-base you're looking for is now in New Jersey?"
A single-payer plan to provide universal health-care coverage has long been an elusive goal for progressive Democrats. Conservatives and some economists have expressed concerns about restricting market choices and burdening taxpayers with new costs.
A single-payer plan is being debated in California. For years such a measure was pushed in Vermont, but ultimately it failed.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, hasn't taken a firm position on Mr. Gottfried's bill, with his spokeswoman saying Tuesday: "The Governor has been and remains committed to ensuring access to high-quality healthcare for all New Yorkers and we will review the legislation in that context."
Democrats and Republicans have an even numerical split in the Senate, but nine Democrats have broken from their party's conference and empower a Republican majority coalition.
Eight of the renegade Democrats allied with Republicans have co-sponsored the single-payer bill in the Senate. But the Republican Senate Majority isn't expected to bring the bill to the floor for the vote.