Vermont notably tried a form of socialized medicine a few years back and had to give up on the program for fiscal reasons. But the dream endures and New York State is coming close to realization: This New York Post article reports how 9 million residents are due to participate in Medicaid this year, per the governor’s budget. That’s 45% of the population, and a growth from 5.2 million in 2012, when New York was already at the forefront of the federal-state program for the poor. Add those relying on Medicare for the elderly and easily more than half of New Yorkers have government medical coverage. (Termination of the official pandemic “emergency” on May 11 may retard the number somewhat, as supplemental eligibilities end.) Some will see this as a positive development for public health, although as my December article for Discourse detailed, there’s reason to think part of this enrollment is a scam. Whether New York, which is losing its bigger income-earners, can continue to pay these bills is another matter.
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Tim W. Ferguson 