By Bill Hammond, EmpireCenter.org
Proponents of establishing a single-payer healthcare system in New York State are making a fresh set of unrealistic claims about their plan – this time by highlighting the supposed benefits for local governments.
A paper recently circulated by the Campaign for New York Health focuses on how much municipalities and school districts would pay in new taxes under the single-payer system, as compared to what they currently spend on insurance premiums.
The paper finds that local governments could save 80 percent or more of their healthcare expenses and 12 percent to 14 percent of their total spending. The authors envision local officials using this potential windfall to improve services, invest in infrastructure or reduce property taxes.
However, these findings should be viewed as wishful thinking rather than a sober assessment. The paper’s analysis is flawed and misleading in at least four ways:
It relies on hypothetical payroll tax rates that are implausibly low – causing the paper to understate the likely tax impact and overstate the savings.
It ignores the collateral damage for private-sector employers and individual taxpayers, at least some of which would have to shoulder higher healthcare costs as municipalities pay less.
It discounts the risk that making the state responsible for burgeoning healthcare expenditures would leave it with less money for other priorities, including school aid and transportation funding, which could leave local governments worse off in the end.Finally, it disregards the financial ripple effects – on both the private and public sectors – of a massive increase in state taxes that would dwarf any savings on local taxes.
The Campaign for New York Health paper is the latest example of single-payer proponents trying to sell their plan as a free lunch – pretending that Albany could rapidly and efficiently take charge of healthcare for 20 million New Yorkers without harming anyone other than insurance executives and a minority of wealthier taxpayers.
In reality, there are risks and downsides that state lawmakers should at be aware of and take seriously. That would mean commissioning an in-depth study by impartial experts, not relying on white papers from committed advocates.
Read more at: https://www.empirecenter.org/publications/another-unrealistic-sales-pitch-for-albanycare/