Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Democratic primary opponent Cynthia Nixon wants to see the adoption of a single-payer universal health care program in New York. This week, Cuomo himself set out to bolster and strengthen the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

“If they were ever successful in ending the Affordable Care Act, it would be catastrophic for New York,” he said.

Cuomo wants to codify the original federal law into state law. He's proposing reintroducing what's known as the individual mandate, or the requirement that everyone have some form of health insurance.

“Other states such as New Jersey, Vermont and Massachusetts -- all that border -- New York have created or put in placed an individual mandate in their states and we think it was obviously an essential part of the ACA and we think it's part of an essential conversation in New York,” said Eric Linzer, New York Health Plan Association CEO.

Health care advocates in New York are supportive of a return to the mandate, which was repealed in the federal tax law approved last year.

“Having the individual mandate in New York sends a strong message that it's important, it's vital to protect against unexpected health care costs,” said Linzer.

But Cuomo is going further than pushing for a state version of the ACA. He wants insurance regulators at the Department of Financial Services to reject health insurance rate hikes that could be as high as a 24 percent increase.

“If we allowed that rate increase to go through it, would be a bonanza to the private insurance companies,” said Cuomo.

But this makes those in the health industry nervous that rates would be set as a result of politics, not based on market forces.

“The development of rates should be based on economics, actuarial data, not political sound bites,” said Linzer.

Since the creation of a statewide marketplace for purchasing insurance in New York, one million people have gained health insurance and 22 percent of people with health insurance buy it from the health care exchange.