By Matt Butler ,  May 23, 2019

Correction: In the print version of this article, it was stated that Judith Jones claimed Tompkins County could save $9.6 million per month under a statewide universal healthcare plan. This should have said $9.6 million per year. Our apologies.

Although the debate over universal healthcare has ebbed and flowed at the national level for decades, over the last several years it has grabbed a more prominent place on the national stage. That’s come about after a mix of fear-mongering over the Affordable Care Act (otherwise known as Obamacare), the backlash to Obamacare’s launch and its subsequent fluctuating popularity, and more liberal candidates embracing the healthcare-for-all mantra.

As most national issues usually do, the debate eventually reached local politics, with the inflection point coming last fall when many Democrats in congressional elections across the country used universal healthcare as a primary plank during campaigns. That included New York State, where the State Senate flipped to Democrats and reinvigorated the push for the New York Health Act, which would implement a statewide single-payer healthcare system in New York….

Continue reading