“Single payer” is a simple and proven solution to the two intertwined crises in our current healthcare system: the skyrocketing costs and the fact that millions lack access to care. A single-payer system like New York Health provides everyone with guaranteed, comprehensive healthcare at a much lower cost by eliminating the middleman that currently stands between you and your doctor: the insurance companies.

Under New York Health, doctors and hospitals would be paid for their work by a single tax-supported fund, similar to Medicare, rather than wasting time and money dealing with hundreds of insurance bureaucracies as they do now in our “multi-payer” system. Instead of the multitude of plans currently available, each with different networks of providers and different services covered, every resident is automatically enrolled in the same comprehensive plan.

In addition, New York Health removes all financial barriers to care. The system is funded through progressive taxation, which means you only pay a percentage of your income based on what you can afford, unlike the skyrocketing fees charged by private insurers. NYH would also eliminate all co-pays and deductibles. Finally, New Yorkers would no longer have to worry about finding “in-network” doctors or being stuck with a bill for healthcare due to an insurance denial.