Working people in Buffalo demand universal healthcare.

We need to show the New York State Legislature that we won't stand for delaying a vote on free public healthcare that covers us all any longer - and only people working together can accomplish that.

2023 needs to finally be the year that a mass movement wins healthcare for all people, instead of healthcare for private profit. No matter where you work, or your union, we need to be able to pay for our medications and take our kids to appointments. COVID-19 has shown us that now more than ever, we need protection from private, employer-based insurance, which can be lost or unaffordable in emergencies. Our fees, copays, and premiums go right to their administrators.

If we pass the New York Health Act, we cover all New Yorkers and our healthcare doesn't depend on our bosses... and we set a precedent for Medicare for All for the rest of the country. We can bargain for more.

What is the New York Health Act?

It is statewide single payer healthcare 🏥❤️. That means:

• Every New York resident, and those who work in New York but live elsewhere, may enroll in the New York Health Plan.
• All services requiring a medical professional will be fully covered. You go to the doctor of your choice. Sexual/reproductive care, dental, vision, mental health, and pharmaceuticals are all included.
• All healthcare costs will be financed through tax contributions based on ability to pay: no copays, no fees, no deductibles and no premiums. Ever.
• Medical decisions will be made between a patient and a doctor. An insurer no longer gets a say in patient care, standing between us and our prescriptions or needed services.
• More choice, equity, and access, less administration and profit.

How will we pay for it?

The NYHA is funded through two main ways: a new progressive (that means: targeting the wealthiest) tax that’s built into the law, and by moving money around that we already spend on healthcare.

These funds are combined into a single, gigantic pool of money that the state will spend on NYer’s healthcare needs. Through its progressive-tax scheme, the New York Health Act is revenue-generating, meaning it is a self-sustaining system. 90% of New Yorkers will pay less in healthcare costs than they do now through the private health insurance system, saving thousands of dollars every year.

• The state does not need to set aside funds or cut other programs to fund NYHA
• New York State will save 1% in overall healthcare costs in year 1 and 3% by year 10, equalling $80 billion in savings over 10 years
• Through the new public administrative agency it will take to implement the New York Health Plan, there will be a 2% increase in employment - 150,000 new jobs.
• Public hospitals will benefit from a higher reimbursement rate
• Will improve chances of ending hospital closures
• Even conservative institutions and estimates, like the Rand Report, show that statewide single payer saves money and lives.

Why now?

COVID-19 showed the country how fragile the link between employment and insurance truly is - how working people can lose our care at a moment's notice. Enough is enough.

Workers all over are stepping up to organize for our rights, growing the labor movement like we haven't seen in decades. That means workers are facing retaliation for unionizing and striking... and when we're fired, we not only lose our wages but our healthcare. How can we fight back against this deadly control? How can we call that "choice"?

More than a majority of New York Assemblymembers currently are signed on to the legislation as co-sponsors, guaranteeing their support. The New York Senate reintroduced the legislation with majority support for the first time ever in 2021. We are so close - we just need you.

⚠️ Senator Sean Ryan and Assemblymembers Bill Conrad and Karen McMahon don't even promise their support to this life-changing legislation. We need them to take this step.

🔥 We need our local co-sponsors, Senator Tim Kennedy, Assemblymembers Jonathan Rivera, Crystal Peoples-Stokes, Monica Wallace, & Patrick Burke to use their influence to bring the legislation to a vote and show Western New York’s working class they have our backs. We need them to refuse to back down in the face of wealthy health insurance propaganda.

We need a mass movement of people who know our stuff that gives our representatives all the way up to Hochul no choice but to pass the New York Health Act.

How can I help?

📝 Complete the form to the right to contact our targeted local representatives DIRECTLY through email and tell them to hold a vote on the New York Health Act - no more delaying!

☎️ This is extra impactful if you CALL after you send your form! bit.ly/nyhealthact716call

🚪📝 Street canvass and door-knock with us! bit.ly/nyhealthact716canvass

💪 Pledge to never support a politician who does not champion statewide single payer: with union expenditures, organizational resources, or individual donations. bit.ly/nyhealthact716pledge

We can help you get your union local on board with universal healthcare, up through the rank and file. Email info@buffalodsa.org to connect!