We already pay more for the health care system already in place than any other state in the country, yet nothing has been done to get these costs under control. Now he wants to go here?

ELIOT’S NEXT BAD IDEA

December 3, 2007 — Singed from the firestorm ignited by his plan to give driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, Gov. Spitzer appears poised to pump up his poll ratings with a public-policy payoff: universal health-care coverage for New Yorkers.

Big mistake.

New York can’t afford its current system of publicly financed health care.

The state’s facing a $4.3 billion budget hole, largely because it already spends so much (nearly $50 billion) on Medicaid and on other health-care programs.

How can New York’s overly taxed public be asked to shoulder billions of dollars more in new health-care costs?

Alas, Spitzer seems to be rushing to tell New Yorkers to do just that: Any day now, he’s expected to unleash a consultant (as yet unnamed) to devise a plan for implementing universal coverage - meant to ensure health insurance for every last New Yorker. (Including those who’d rather spend the money on something of their own choosing.)

The state’s been holding a string of hearings on the idea for months; the last of them is slated for Wednesday in Old Westbury.

A final plan is to be set to go by May 31.

If it does, get ready to dig deep: A United Hospital Fund study last December admitted that “expanded coverage” would tack on billions to the state’s already out-of-control health-care tab.

Not only is a massive new program absolutely unaffordable (particularly with Albany already severely short of cash), the hefty new taxes needed to pay for it would surely send businesses and residents scrambling for the borders - wrecking the economy in their wake.

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