MEMO IN OPPOSITION
S.5474 (Rivera) / A.6058 (Gottfried)

ACT would amend the public health law and the state finance law, in relation to establishing the “New York health plan” and to establishing New York Health.

MACNY- The Manufacturers Association opposes (S.5474 (Rivera/A.6058 (Gottfried), which would create a government run, single-payer health care system in place of New York’s current system of health coverage. The single payer system would be financed by a mandatory new payroll tax on both employers and employees, as well as new taxes on other income such as interest and capital gains. Such tax increases would be significant.

An independent study conducted by the RAND Corporation found that the legislation would require at least $210 Billion in new taxes when fully implemented.  RAND did not include the cost of long-term care benefits, which requires an additional more than $40 billion in taxes. This is three times more than what New York State currently collects to pay for everything from schools to roads and bridges.  The legislation does not specifically mention the real fiscal or economic impact it could have on New York state, nor does it calculate the amount of new taxes to be imposed.

MACNY supports and remains committed to universal coverage. Today, more than 95% of New Yorkers have health care coverage through a combination of private, employer-sponsored and government supported plans. Under this legislation, New Yorkers would not have any choice in their health care coverage; the only option available would be the government-run single payer system.  A single payer system also could put thousands of healthcare jobs at risk and cause a loss of hospital revenues.  Furthermore, we have heard from some of our members that this type of system could force them to move operations to another state.

For these above-mentioned reasons, MACNY opposes the legislation S.5474/A.6058.