ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. David Paterson has submitted short-term funding legislation that cuts $775 million from state health care programs for the year, forcing lawmakers next week to either accept cuts or risk shutting down government altogether. The budget for the fiscal year is two months late as legislators grapple with a deficit estimated at more than $9...
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. David Paterson has submitted short-term funding legislation that cuts $775 million from state health care programs for the year, forcing lawmakers next week to either accept cuts or risk shutting down government altogether.
The budget for the fiscal year is two months late as legislators grapple with a deficit estimated at more than $9 billion. Legislative leaders say they’ve agreed to about $6 billion in proposed savings. Paterson says they need to cut $2.5 billion more.
The bill Friday differs from previous one-week funding extensions. Those contained only required payments for things like Medicaid, payroll and school aid and delayed most other spending. The new measure will start cutting program budgets through the entire fiscal year that ends next March 31.
“I think if an emergency bill does not pass, that gradually the gears of government will shut down,” Budget Director Robert Megna said, though adding he thought most of these measures would be acceptable to the Legislature.
They include about $385 million, or roughly 1 percent to 1.5 percent, in actual funding cuts to the health care industry, plus $300 million in savings from Medicaid fraud auditing, Megna said.
Daniel Sisto, president of the Healthcare Association of New York State, representing hospitals and health care networks, said the net effect would be a loss of about $1 billion in economic activity. “In the midst of severe medical staffing shortages and long waits for needed care, the governor just issued pink slips for thousands of desperately needed health care workers,” he said.
Other proposed administration savings include $99 million from eliminating the so-called trend factor for hospitals, nursing homes and personal care providers; $72 million from reducing indigent care reimbursement; $70 million from reinstituting the requirement for prior approval of health insurance premiums and about 40 other smaller cuts.