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Our president often refers to the current affordability crisis in America as a “hoax.” He called the crisis a “fake” Democrat-created issue during the RNC convention in Dallas last month.
I know the crisis is not fake because I live in the real world, and like many reading this I have lots of real, and really expensive, bills to pay. And, those bills have gotten a lot worse over the past several years. Property taxes and health care are the 2 biggest expenses in our household budget, with energy costs and groceries not too far behind. Of these, it has been health insurance delivering the most damaging blows to our financial well-being.
I wrote many times to Rep. Claudia Tenney, pleading for her to support extending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. When she decided to vote against that bill (H.R. 1834), it hurt hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, including me and my family. And with the 12% rate increase approved by NY for 2027, I am dreading the open enrollment that starts next month, wondering if I will be able to afford insurance at all. Everyone, even those with good insurance through their jobs, will almost certainly feel the pain of increased costs as well.
Since the Republicans in our federal government are choosing not to treat affordable health care as a priority, many states, including New York, are pursuing their own solutions. The NY Health Act (NYHA) would create a single-payer healthcare system that would save tens of billions of dollars by cutting insurance company waste andabuse, while lowering property taxes by completely eliminating the requirement for local governments to fund Medicaid. I’ve been advocating for NYHA for a long time now, and have reached out to Assemblymember Bailey and Senator Helming about it. But, neither one supports the initiative.
The incumbents have had their chance. Every candidate challenging them has vowed either direct support of NYHA, or to make health care more affordable by undoing the devastating damage of the “big ugly bill” (OBBBA). My vote will be for this chance at positive change.
Dan Bielaski
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