BRIEFS AND REPORTS
Why is Health Care in New York So Unaffordable and What Can be Done to Fix It?
This paper describes the drivers of New York’s high-priced health system and outlines promising policy options that can help mitigate its health care affordability, equity, and access predicament.
A new survey reveals the impact of health care affordability issues on New Yorkers and strong support for government-led solutions across party lines. The survey found that over two-thirds (68%) of respondents experienced healthcare affordability burdens in the past year, and even more (80%) are worried about affording healthcare in the future.
Unfortunately, New Yorkers’ health care affordability burdens have gotten worse. In 2019, Altarum’s Healthcare Value Hub found that 52% of respondents experienced healthcare affordability burdens in the past year, and 76% were worried about affording health care in the future. See the 2019 findings here.
The 2025 survey of more than 1,400 New York State adults, conducted from Dec. 26, 2024, to Jan. 3, 2025, was conducted by Altarum’s Healthcare Value Hub in partnership with the Community Service Society of New York.