To the Editor,
More than 26,000 Americans die each year due to a lack of health insurance. That’s not just a statistic. For many, that’s empty chairs at a dinner table. That’s family and friends who are taken away from us too soon because they can’t afford the basic necessities of health insurance. The New York Health Act (S7590/A07897) would replace our current convoluted healthcare system with a single-payer healthcare system, otherwise known as universal healthcare. This bill will ensure all residents in New York State have access to healthcare, regardless of income or employment status.
Recent federal healthcare cuts will directly impact New Yorker’s access to healthcare by slashing funding for Medicaid and the Essential Plan, doubling the uninsured population. That’s roughly two million people in New York. Those cuts will also skyrocket premium costs, and force hospitals to lay off staff, putting many hospitals in jeopardy of closure. Without hospitals, there will be delays in care, longer ER wait times, increased communicable diseases and preventable death. The New York Health Act is the only solution to counteract the harm.
Studies have shown that over 90% of New Yorkers will pay less under the New York Health Act than they currently do in today’s unsustainable profit-driven healthcare system. The New York Health Act will eliminate administrative inefficiencies and allow the government to negotiate better rates for services and medications.
Personally, I know plenty of friends and family who have struggled to pay for their health insurance. Free healthcare shouldn’t be a privilege, it should be a right. It’s important that we urge our state representatives to both save our money and ensure New Yorkers’ health by passing this legislation. So many have suffered enough without health insurance, and it’s important to remember how many will be saved with universal healthcare.
Sincerely,
Sheyandra Perera
NYPIRG Intern
51 Hill Street, Staten Island
College of Staten Island, 2026, Biology
