The following was featured published in the The Reporter on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
By Lillian Browne
SIDNEY – A proposal to create a statewide single-payer health care system has drawn support from Sidney Councilmember Kevin Greene, who says it could significantly reduce costs for municipalities, schools and taxpayers.
Greene emphasized that his comments are his own and not made on behalf of the town of Sidney. He said his interest comes from his role as a steward of taxpayer and municipal funds and from his effort to examine long-term financial challenges facing rural communities.
The New York Health Act, sponsored in the state Senate by Senator Gustavo Rivera, would establish a publicly financed health care system intended to cover all New Yorkers. The current version, Senate Bill S3425, is active but remains before the Senate Health Committee and has not advanced to a full Senate vote. A corresponding Assembly version has not received legislative support.
Greene said he became interested in the proposal after attending a presentation on the measure and studying how health care costs affect local governments.
“It’s something that I’ve been looking around since I’ve been on the board, trying to understand where we’re at, how we got here, where we’re going,” Greene said. “This is an economic catalyst that would dwarf any kind of housing initiatives or downtown revitalization initiatives.”
The proposal has been introduced repeatedly for more than a decade but has never become law. Greene said he believes the issue remains stalled because of a combination of political barriers, competing interests and limited public awareness.
“I think there’s just a lot of misinformation out there,” he said. “It’s more of a mental hurdle than it is anything else.”
Supporters of the New York Health Act argue that replacing the current insurance-based system with a single public program would reduce administrative costs, lower health care expenses and relieve pressure on local municipal budgets.
Critics have questioned whether the proposal could be implemented without significant tax increases, whether federal waivers would be required and whether the projected savings would materialize.
Greene pointed to potential impacts on school districts and counties, which often carry significant employee health care expenses.
“The town government is small, but the school budget… that does affect Sidney directly,” he said.
Greene said he spoke with Sidney Central School District Superintendent Eben Bullock about the proposal and discussed the district’s healthcare expenses. Greene said a transition to a single-payer system could save the school district more than $1 million annually.
Likewise, a 2018 study by the RAND Corporation, an independent, nonpartisan research organization, examined the potential impact of transitioning New York to a universal, single-payer healthcare system. Commissioned by the New York State Health Foundation, the study estimated that under the New York Health Act, county governments could save an estimated 90-95% on employee health care costs and eliminate the Medicaid county share.
Delaware County budgeted $8,846,903 for its required local share of Medicaid costs in its 2025 adopted budget and $8,945,560 in its 2026 adopted budget.
Delaware County budgeted $8.85 million for its Medicaid county share in 2025 and $8.95 million in 2026, one of its largest state-mandated expenses. Supporters of the legislation argue those costs would disappear under the New York Health Act.
Advocates of the proposed New York Health Act have argued that, if enacted, the single-payer system would eliminate the county’s Medicaid share, freeing those funds for other county priorities or potential tax relief.
The New York Health Act campaign argues the measure would replace premiums, deductibles and co-pays with a progressive payroll tax structure, though opponents have raised questions about costs, implementation and the role of federal programs including Medicaid and Medicare.
Greene acknowledged that health care reform of this scale would require legislative action and further discussion.
“I’m not speaking as a town board member,” he said. “But as it being my job to look out for constituents, this is one of those things where I said, ‘Hey, people should be aware of this.’”
Greene said the proposal could affect rural communities beyond direct municipal expenses by changing how individuals interact with employers and health care costs.
“People would no longer be tied to employers for their health care,” he said. “They would have the ability to do different kinds of things that they might not normally have been able to do.”
The measure has drawn support from advocates who say health care should be treated as a public service and criticism from those concerned about taxation, government control and implementation.
Greene said he believes the discussion should continue regardless of political affiliation.
“I don’t think that this is a partisan issue,” he said. “It’s something where, if you just cut it down to the real nitty-gritty nuts and bolts of it, the numbers of it, why wouldn’t you do this?”
Greene said a regional informational session about the proposal is planned for July 8 at the Sidney Memorial Library from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and at the Andes Public Library July 11 at 2:30 p.m., where residents can learn more and ask questions.
For now, he said the first step is public awareness.
“The more people that are aware and the more people that are engaged, the better,” Greene said.
The New York Health Act would require state approval before implementation.
For more information visit: https://www.nyhcampaign.org/healthequalswealth
To view the RAND Corporation assessment visit: https://ilny.us/images/Documents/Programs/RAND_RR2424.pdf