Albany: Proposal for Universal Health Insurance

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NY TIMES

A state lawmaker proposed yesterday that New York create a $59 billion health insurance program that would cover everyone in the state and would probably be paid for through a tax increase. The plan, from Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried, would generally replace the private health plans that now provide coverage to many people through their jobs. Assemblyman Gottfried, a Manhattan Democrat who is chairman of the Health Committee, said the program would have to be paid for by new taxes, but he said that state residents would pay less than they now pay in premiums and deductibles. Critics said there was little evidence that the state could afford the program, or that it could do better than the current system.
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