Since the passage of Obamacare, polling consistently has shown that it is a very unpopular program with the American people. Indeed, as has recently been reported, MIT economist Jonathan Gruber — one of the so-called architects of Obamacare — was recorded as saying that the law passed Congress because of the stupidity of the American voters and the lack of transparency about how the law was financed. 

Gruber’s comments notwithstanding, this past mid-term election confirmed for many federal legislators who voted for Obamacare that the “stupid” American voter was going to hold them accountable for the passage of this flawed law. This is a sentiment that isn’t just coming from a Republican. Democratic Senator Charles Schumer, of New York, in a post-election speech also said as much.

Against this backdrop, it is surprising that a number of Democratic state legislators want to go a step further than Obamacare and implement a government-run, single-payer health-care system in New York state. The chair of the Assembly Health Committee, Richard Gottfried, is sponsoring the bill. He admits that Obamacare isn’t working, but apparently rather than advocate for its repeal, he wants to double down on government intervention in health care and enact a system that would be completely paid for by the government. In an effort to build support for his plan, he has been holding public hearings throughout New York state, including one in Syracuse on Dec. 4.

According to Gottfried, under his universal health plan, all New Yorkers would be covered, practically all health-care services would be covered, and the government would pay for it all. Interestingly, the bill does not estimate how much this would cost, but rather simply states that this government-funded plan would be “the most effective for reducing and controlling costs for taxpayers, employers, and individuals.” This is a claim made even though it would be paid for, in part, by a new payroll tax and a surcharge on income tax — both personal and corporate. I’m sure individuals and businesses will be relieved to know that their health-care costs will be “controlled” because they will be taxed more.

One doesn’t have to look far to see how similar universal health-care plans are working. Vermont has passed a single-payer system under which the state will pick up the tab for Vermonters’ health care. The state itself estimates that it will take $1.7 billion to $2.2 billion in additional revenue to pay for the system, which is slated to go into effect in 2017. The problem is no one has any idea how this is going to be paid for in light of the fact that Vermont collects only $2.7 billion a year in taxes. It is a safe bet that supporters of such a system will advocate for higher taxes. So much for great savings.

Putting the concern over costs aside, there are other problems with a government-funded health-care system like the one being proposed here in New York. Reimbursement rates for medical providers would be set by the state, similar to how Medicaid and Medicare now work. Due to the inevitable cost constraints, it is likely that reimbursement will be low (as they are for Medicaid). Accordingly, it isn’t a stretch to envision that less people will be willing to practice medicine in New York, knowing that they will not be compensated appropriately. We are already seeing this in our Medicaid system. A survey from 2013 indicated that 51 percent of primary-care physicians are not accepting new Medicaid patients because government reimbursement rates are so low. Why do we think this will not be the case if we institute a single-payer system.

Most people would agree that our health-care system is in need of improvement. In many ways, our system is inefficient and too expensive. However, under the single-payer bill being proposed, health care is simply being expanded without any reforms to control cost (other than by government fiat). The good news is this bill has failed to gain any traction in the state legislature in the past few years. Hopefully, that continues to be the case.       

William (Will) A. Barclay is the Republican representative of the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County. Contact him at barclaw@assembly.state.ny.us, or (315) 598-5185.