There are 19.75 million people in New York.
Of them, 6.4 million receive Medicaid. 3.3 million
are on Medicare. 700,000 are enrolled in the Essential plan for lower-income individuals
who are not Medicaid eligible. There are 375,000 kids getting Child Health Plus.
Then, there are likely 4.5 million people who receive government-funded
insurance as a matter of public employment (1.5 million public workers with a
general assumption of 2 family members added to their coverage).
So, 15.275 million people in the Empire State
receive some form of government health insurance paid-for or subsidized either
partially or, in most cases, in-full.
That means that only 23 percent of New Yorkers – or
4.475 million people -- are fully privately insured whether they buy insurance
on the exchange or pay in-part for or receive in-full health through their
private sector employers.
I bring those numbers to the fore to highlight not the
struggles of those receiving government insurance, but instead, the very real
struggles of the 4.475 million people who are not. We represent a distinct
minority of New Yorkers who have been taking an inordinate amount of abuse at
the hands of the state while so many others have been granted benevolence from
it.
It’s bad enough that we and our employers have to
pay insanely-high amounts for insurance which rises at what averages out to be
an almost unbelievable 5 percent per year over the past 8 years; or that the
average family plan has a premium of $9,990 and a deductible of $7,980; or that
we could easily be bankrupted by having to pay that deductible in a time of
personal crisis (if the premium didn’t ruin family finances already).
But, rather than granting relief from those costs,
the state gives us misery and is looking to dole out more of that.
New York State already imposes four taxes on
individuals and their employers who buy health insurance. There is the covered
lives assessment which is a surcharge placed on every covered family member
which in 2015 alone collected $1.1 billion. It is accompanied by a 9.63 percent
tax on health services done at hospitals which helped the state glean $2.9
billion in 2015. That same year, a 0.83 percent assessment on insurers brought
$240 million to state coffers while a 1.75 percent premium tax netted $353
million.
That’s $4.5 billion in taxes in just one calendar
year.
Governor Cuomo will tell you that’s money collected
from the insurance companies themselves. But, anyone with a basic understanding
of economics knows that those costs are passed on to the consumer. It’s you and
me who are paying those charges and fees.
The fact that Cuomo doesn’t understand that
explains his latest assault on health insurers (which is an assault on the
insured)… a fifth tax.
When he released his budget proposal last month he
announced the creation of a new 14 percent surcharge on private health
insurance companies. The Administration calls it a "healthcare insurance windfall profit fee" and it is his response
to the federal government’s tax reform – he figures that the incredible drop in
corporate income tax rates should be countered by an almost identical increase
in state taxes to reap some of that “windfall” (money insurers would no longer
be paying into federal collections).
That concept burst the bubbles of many of us who
assumed, and rightly so, that the significant savings achieved from tax reform
would have been passed on to the insured; after all, we’ve heard of other large
enterprises across the country (like utility companies) that are keen on
sharing the wealth with their customers.
What does this mean?
Employers that provide health insurance know that
its embedded taxes are among the highest taxes they pay. With no end in sight
to rising costs, worst case would be that companies that compete globally will
just get up and leave the state as they have been. The more likely scenario is that
many of them will follow the lead of others and go to high deductible plans
with employees having to shoulder that deductible.
As I said earlier, those deductibles can harm a
working family -- too few can claim to have thousands of dollars sitting around
for family emergencies. When a health crisis does happen and they eat that
expense, they either claim bankruptcy or take on another massive debt payment.
Maybe that’s exactly what Cuomo wants to happen to
them. Then they’d be able to join the 15 million plus who are receiving government
health insurance. It kind of fits with the universal health care narrative
(he’s already three-quarters of the way there). And, at the same time, this is
an actual manifestation of his deeply-held anti-Trump rhetoric.
Whatever his reasons may be, we can’t let the
windfall tax happen. Those who buy health insurance pay enough. Companies need
relief. Families need relief. Our economy needs relief.
If you are among us who are privately ensured I encourage you to reach
out to your elected officials and tell them to reject S. 7509/A.9509
(Revenue Article VII Bill) Part DD which would impose this sickening new tax.
From the 05 February 2018 Greater
Niagara Newspapers and Batavia Daily News
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