I will sponsor and fight for the New York Health Act (NYHA). A universal, single-payer health care system will save money, eliminate insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs, prioritize preventative care, and free workers to do the job of their choosing, change jobs, or start businesses.

For the first time ever, 95% of New Yorkers have health insurance, but more than 1,000,000 of us are still uninsured and many more are underinsured and paying far more than they can afford. Under the NYHA, by pulling insurance companies out of our healthcare system, we will put the people’s needs first.

Unequal Access.

As a public health educator, with a doctorate in Nutritional Epidemiology, I have seen so many people struggle with access to healthcare – at every income level. Folks working in small businesses, nonprofit agencies, and on their own are in a constant struggle to pay for health insurance for themselves and their employees. 

Have you ever gone to work sick because you couldn’t afford to stay home? How often are kids sent to school sick because there’s no other place for them to be? People are forced to choose between paying for prescriptions and paying the rent. People are forced to ask, does it hurt enough to go to the doctor? Nobody should have to ask themselves these questions. 

62% of U.S. household bankruptcies are caused by medical bills and most of those families HAD private insurance. 

The NYHA is not a new concept or program. There are so many countries with this kind of system. NYS has a large enough tax base that we could make it work here. 

Preventative care saves lives. 

People with limited or no coverage because of cost or circumstance often use our emergency rooms as their primary care, or worse, wait until their symptoms are life-threatening. They can’t afford preventative care or fill their prescriptions – which puts them at risk and increasingly stresses our medical system. For example, high blood pressure can be life-threatening - but it’s controllable. But if you’re not getting regular check ups, you don’t even know you have it.

We can and must do better.