State Senator O'Mara said “The New York Health Act" (NYHA aka single payer) "would swamp the state budget – we can't afford the taxes necessary to pay the annual 91Billion dollar price tag”. State Senator Seward said his “primary concern is the cost” and the “additional taxes displacing critical services.”

Had they carefully read the bill and its economic analysis they would find that property taxes could drop significantly due to the elimination of the Medicaid mandate on counties and their health insurance expense. The cost for county and school district health insurance, paid for by our property taxes, could lower our property taxes substantially. In Tompkins County the savings from Medicaid mandate and county employee benefits alone is estimated at $22 Million.

Read the full letter at the Ithaca Times here.