Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Wednesday proposed a "Health Care Reform Act 2000 " that would:
Increase state aid to hospitals and create a new government-funded health insurance plan for some 300,000 adult New Yorkers.
Expand support for graduate medical education by increasing the funding to account for inflation.
Affect HMOs by establishing a guaranty fund for unpaid claims, mandating new payment practices for insurers, and reducing HMOs' ability to make health-care decisions.
The $2.85 billion plan reportedly would be funded with funds from the tobacco settlement.
The Business Council has been urging lawmakers to let a $1.38 billion "temporary" tax expire on schedule at the end of this year. That tax was created by the Health Care Reform Act of 1996 (HCRA).
Click here for The Assembly release.