The Working Families Party has weighed in on New York's proposed Fair Share for Health Care Act, producing a report that says the bill will create jobs while extending health coverage to the uninsured.

At the same time, the organization called the results of a recent study debunking the act "junk data."

The Working Families study predicts that the proposed legislation will create between 2,100 and 21,600 jobs for New Yorkers and offer health insurance to more than 450,000 of the state's uninsured who are working for large employers.

The legislation, sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, D-Manhattan, and Senator Nick Spano, R-Westchester County, would require all non-manufacturing, non-agricultural businesses with 100 or more employees to provide $3 an hour in healthcare benefits for every affected employee or pay an equivalent tax to the state.

Working Families took issue with a report by the Employment Policies Institute that estimated the act would cause the state to lose up to 100,000 jobs, and force businesses to take a $9.2 billion hit.

"All you really need to know about this junk data study is that it was done by the same people who oppose the idea of the minimum wage," said Dan Cantor, executive director of the Working Families Party. "And we see now how wrong they were. Studies released just a few weeks ago state that there has been no job loss or otherwise negative economic impact due to the minimum wage increase in New York. Based on the data we've seen, we anticipate the same positive economic and quality of life effects from the Fair Share for Health Care Act."

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