By Lucas Willard, July 26, 2019

New York State Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, a Democrat who represents portions of Washington and Saratoga Counties, invited residents to a town hall meeting in Saratoga Springs Thursday night.

Marijuana, healthcare, property taxes, and more. 113th District Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner discussed a slew of issues at a town hall meeting at the Saratoga Springs Public Library….

Respondents within the district are becoming more receptive to single-payer healthcare. Four months ago, Woerner said 60 percent of respondents were in favor of a single-payer system. Today, that’s increased to 70 percent.

“I hear more people being in favor of this than I certainly did five years ago when I started.”

Woerner still has concerns about a single-payer model and the so-called New York Health Act, however. In a district where rural healthcare has become a primary concern, and in communities with older populations that rely on Medicare, Woerner says she is wary about how reimbursement rates for a single-payer system would affected local healthcare providers.

“But some of the studies have suggested, the RAND study has suggested, that the reimbursement rates could be cut by 40 percent. Which is a significant cut. And like I said, we’re seeing that where you’ve got high Medicare in the payer mix, it’s not sustainable. So that to me is a concern”….

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