Healthcare is a
human right.
New York can
lead the way.
The New York Health Act would make New York the first state in the nation with universal, single-payer healthcare. No more premiums. No more copays. No more prior-authorizations. Paid for by all New Yorkers, for all New Yorkers.
The current system is broken and unsustainable.
One System. Paid for by Every New Yorker.
All Care. Any Doctor. Any Hospital.
No Exceptions.
The NY Health Act replaces the current patchwork of private insurance with a single public program that covers every resident.
Every New York resident is automatically enrolled, meaning no applications and no coverage gaps. Full coverage for medical, mental health, dental, vision, prescriptions, reproductive health, and long-term care. No copays, no prior authorization, no surprise bills.
Under the current system, medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the US. Meanwhile, billions of dollars that should go toward care are siphoned off by insurance company executives, shareholders, and corporate profits. The NY Health Act eliminates that waste entirely. Every dollar goes toward actual healthcare for actual New Yorkers.
Financed through a graduated payroll tax and investment income tax, so that the vast majority of households will pay less than they do today in combined premiums and taxes. In fact, it is estimated that, collectively, the yearly savings will range between $11 billion and $16 billion per year.
No more figuring out what providers are in and out of network. Under a single payer system, provider networks no longer exist. See any participating provider in New York. Doctors and hospitals are paid directly, freeing them from insurance bureaucracy so they can focus on care.
Watch this video of two socialists in office (SIOs), Mayor (assemblymember at the time of this video) Zohran Mamdani and State Senator Jabari Brisport, break down why our current for-profit healthcare system is not just broken, but absurd.
Watch the video →Want to dive deeper? The Physicians for a National Health Program NY Metro Chapter has put together a comprehensive resource page covering all the details of the New York Health Act — from coverage and financing to FAQs and research.
PNHP-NYC Metro NYHA Resources →The Senate has the votes —
but leadership won't act.
Current bill numbers: S3425 (Senate) and A1466 (Assembly) — 2025–2026 session.
Assemblymember Richard Gottfried introduces the first version of the NY Health Act, beginning a 30+ year campaign.
The full Assembly passes the bill four years running — clearing committee and winning a floor vote each time. The Senate, then Republican-controlled, refuses to hold a committee vote.
Democrats win a supermajority. For the first time, NYHA has majority co-sponsors in both chambers. But the Municipal Labor Committee (UFT, DC37) lobbies leadership directly. Neither Speaker Heastie nor Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins schedules a vote.
The Senate has a majority. The Assembly is one co-sponsor short. The only thing standing between New York and universal healthcare is 1 Assembly co-sponsor and two people choosing not to schedule a vote.
Sources: NYSenate.gov S3425 · NYAssembly.gov A1466 · FastDemocracy.com · PNHP NY Metro · NY1 News · Jacobin · New York Focus
Workers built this state.
Healthcare should work for them.
Having to choose between food, rent, and healthcare has become a uniquely American horror story. Workers take jobs they hate to keep coverage, stay in them out of fear of losing it, and are forced to fight for both better pay and basic benefits at the bargaining table. Striking workers lose their coverage precisely when they need security most. We believe that the workers who built this country deserve the best healthcare at no cost, and that healthcare should finally be taken off the bargaining table for good.
Right now, your healthcare is a leash that ties your job to your ability to receive the care you need. NYHA not only severs that relationship, it builds a system that covers more care and services than any employer or union health plan could ever cover.
- Coverage that is better than any existing plan: no copays, no networks, no prior auth, no surprise bills
- Change jobs, leave an abusive workplace, start a business, or go back to school without a gap in care
If you are a union member, no matter how good your health benefits are under your benefit plan, NYHA still covers more. By removing healthcare off the bargaining table, workers can focus on fighting for higher wages rather than negotiating about benefits.
- Go on strike without ever having the fear of losing health coverage
- No more tiered networks — all facilities and all doctors will be zero copay and zero cost at the point of service
- Fight for pay and safer working conditions. No more fighting for Healthcare
NYHA is a transformative step, but a democratic socialist vision for healthcare doesn't stop at insurance reform. We are fighting for a future built on working class solidarity and power: well-funded public hospitals accountable to their communities and a system governed democratically by the workers and patients it serves.
Organized workers beat
organized money.
The insurance industry, pharmaceutical corporations, and hospital systems have spent decades buying influence in D.C. and Albany. To beat these powerful interests, we need to build our own power through building a shared vision of a system that we deserve. This is how we win.
No bill this transformative has ever passed without a mass movement behind it. To pass it, we need to build a collective vision together. Join the DSA healthcare working group, where we are partnering with many other community partners to knock on doors, educate each other on how the current system robs us, and what exactly does a more just and democratic healthcare system look like. We have the momentum after the historic win of Mayor Mamdani, now lets continue to build.
Support for single-payer healthcare should be a baseline expectation for anyone running for office. It is not a radical ask. It is the minimum standard for a candidate who claims to represent working people. We need to build a political culture in New York where opposing universal healthcare is a liability. That means asking candidates where they stand, holding them to their answers, and making clear at the ballot box that half-measures and insurance-industry hedging are not acceptable. We do not want tweaks to the current system. We do not want a public option. We want single payer. Any other answer is unacceptable.
The Senate already has a majority. The Assembly needs just one more co-sponsor. The only thing standing between New York and universal healthcare is two Democratic leaders who have chosen to side with insurance industry donors over their own constituents. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins controls the Senate floor calendar. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie controls the Assembly. Neither has to answer to the insurance lobby — they have to answer to voters. Make that unmistakably clear.
