New York Holds First Hearing on Health Care Reform

Nearly 200 New York state residents and members of the health care industry on Wednesday met to discuss potential plans to overhaul the state's health care system, the Albany Times Union reports. The hearing -- the first in a series of six hearings to be held around the state on the topic, called "Partnership for Coverage" -- was hosted by state Health Commissioner Richard Daines, state Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo and Joseph Baker, assistant deputy secretary of the state Department of Health under Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D), along with several experts in the health field, officials from the Spitzer administration and Assembly member Richard Gottfried (D).

Several witnesses at the hearing argued in favor of a single-payer, government-run system that would eliminate the private insurance industry, while others, including several health insurer representatives, argued for more incremental reforms that would make changes to the current system. Daines and Dinallo in May will report to Spitzer with an outline of the "building blocks" for universal health care in New York.

Daines said, "We are committed to working toward universal coverage." He added that creating universal coverage within the current system is not a good idea because insurance reform must be accompanied by reforms in quality and outcomes (Crowley, Albany Times Union, 9/6).