Universal Health-Care Would Save Billions, Economist Predicts

Universal health care would save New York taxpayers more than $70 billion a year by 2019, according to economist Gerald Friedman.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst professor analyzed the economic effects of passing the New York Health Act, sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and State Sen. Bill Perkins, both Democrats representing Manhattan. The bill would establish what some refer to as a “Medicare for all” system in which the state, rather than private insurers, would pay for health care. It would be funded through a progressive tax, 80 percent of which would be paid by employers.