State Senate Urges Congress to Enact Single Payer Health Care

US Sen. Schumer Urges CBO to Analyze Single Payer System

June 3, 2009

The New York State Senate passed a resolution (J2313 - full text here) today urging Congress to enact a single payer health care system (H.R. 676). Senator Neil Breslin (Albany), chair of the Senate Insurance Committee, was the lead sponsor. The resolution was co-sponsored by Senators Addabbo, Diaz, Duane, Espada, Hassell-Thompson, Onorato, Schneiderman, Stavisky, and Thompson.

The State Assembly last year passed a similar resolution in support of HR 676 sponsored by Assemblymembers Ortiz and Gottfried. New York is the second state after Maine to have both houses of the State legislature pass a resolution in favor of a federal single payer health care program. Several other states have had at least one state legislative chamber pass such a resolution. The California state legislature has twice passed bills to create a state single payer system only to have it vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.

HR 676 (Conyers – Mich.) has more than 70 co-sponsors in the House, including New York representatives Clarke, Engel, Hinchey, Maloney, Massa, Meeks, Nadler, Serrano, Tonko, and Velazquez

Senator Charles Schumer recently agreed to urge the Congressional Budget Office to include a single payer system in any cost-benefit analysis done this year on universal health care. Senator Schumer previously sponsored single payer legislation while a member of the House of Representatives and remains a single payer supporter. (Schumer however is focusing on a public option model for universal health care since he feels it is more likely to pass).

A previous study by the Congressional Budget Office estimated that a single payer universal health care plan would reduce health care costs by 9%. (The US spent $2.3 trillion on health care in 2007.) More recent estimates by various medical groups cite potential savings of $400 billion a year under a single payer system. A February 2005 study by the Lewin group estimated that a single payer plan just for California would save $344 billion over a ten year period. State lawmakers funded a similar study for New York two years ago; the study is now awaiting final approval by the Governor.

"We applaud the State Senate for standing up for real health care reform. Americans need to insist that the Congressional debate over universal health care focus on making quality health care a right for all Americans, not on protecting the profits of insurance companies. Rather than trying to finance health care reform by taxing health care benefits, Congress needs to save the 30 cents out of every health care dollar that goes for the waste and bureaucracy of our irrational private for profit health insurance system," said Mark Dunlea, co-chair of Single Payer New York, a coalition of consumers, doctors, nurses, unions and faith groups.

"There is a growing crisis in health care in the United States of America, manifested in rising health care costs, increased premiums, out-of-pocket spending, decreased international business competitiveness, and massive layoffs. The increasing expense of Medicaid and the rising costs of insuring state employees and teachers can best be met not by limiting benefits, but by expanding them under a national, publicly-funded health insurance program. An expanded and improved Medicare for All type program will not only guarantee quality health care for all Americans, but by controlling costs it will provide a much needed economic stimulus for employers and taxpayers. I appreciate my Senate colleagues standing together on this important issue and look forward to HR 676 receiving serious consideration by Congress and the President," said Senator Breslin.

"The New York State Senate joins with hundreds of officials elected to state and local governments, a majority of physicians and nurses and hundreds of labor unions all across the United States, who embrace single payer national health insurance as a measure that will improve the life for everyone. We salute their leadership. We look forward to hearing from Governor Paterson, who has supported single payer in the past. We beseech the Governor to join the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly in calling for single payer health care.," said Coates, a co-chairperson of Single Payer New York.

"Americans can not afford to continue to waste hundreds of billions of dollars annually for a health insurance system that adds nothing of value while denying essential care and imposing enormous expense with their paperwork, marketing costs and profits. The various reforms being advanced by our national leaders do little to control the cost of health care because they seem designed to protect the profits and campaign contributions of insurance and drug companies and do not get rid of the inefficiencies of the current system," added Rebecca Elgie of the Tompkins County Health Care Task Force.