Today marks the start of the 2020 legislative session and right outside the NY Chapter ACS offices, there are about 300 people participating in an anti-vaccination demonstration growing in size.
The NYS Senate and Assembly is set to convene at noon today.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo will hold the 2020 State of the State Address in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany at 1:30 PM today.
"Last year we laid out the most aggressive agenda in modern political history and we got it done," Governor Cuomo said. "This year we'll build on that record of accomplishment and continue restoring confidence in government as a force for good. We're going to set the bar even higher, making progress happen for the people of this great state and sending a signal to a weary country to follow New York as we lead the way upwards."
Here is a list of his proposals that he has pre-released that will impact healthcare. What we didn't see in his original list is the legalization of marijuana, but do anticipate him introducing something.
STATE BUDGET
New York’s budget gap for the coming year stands at $6.1 billion. It’s the largest state budget gap since the Great Recession, mostly attributed to $4 billion in Medicaid overspending.
New York’s Medicaid program covers over 6 million residents and is projected to reach $74.5 billion in 2019, in total costs split between the federal government, state and local governments.
In 2019, the Cuomo administration delayed payments into April, thereby transferring the issue into the 2020 state budget.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has cited a trio of issues facing Medicaid spending including: An increase in the minimum wage, a phase out of federal funding and an aging population that has seen more people enroll in long-term care.
On December 31, 209 - the NYS Department of Health released a proposal in the NYS Register to cut Medicaid payments by 1%. It’s expected to save $124 million in "gross Medicaid expenditures" in the final quarter of the current fiscal year, and $496 million in each subsequent year, according to the notice.
The across-the-board rate cut would impact providers such as hospitals, nursing homes, doctors and others who provide care through the state’s Medicaid program, which serves roughly 6 million New Yorkers, most of whom are children, seniors or individuals with disabilities.
The Medical State Society of New York and several organizations including the New York Chapter ACS have signed onto a joint letter calling on the Governor to reconsider across the board payment reduction, other Medicaid reductions and protect this critical program to our State’s most vulnerable residents, the workers who care for them and the providers who bear the responsibility.
ASSEMBLY LEADERSHIP CHANGES
Assemblyman Brian Kolb has officially
resigned as minority leader, following a drunk driving arrest on New Year’s Eve just days after writing an op-ed against drinking and driving. Not only that He was apparently twice the legal limit when he crashed and tried to blame his wife for the crash.
The new Assembly minority leader is William Barclay - a nine-term legislator, who was named deputy minority leader in 2012 and served in that role in 2018. Barclay currently serves as the top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, which is responsible for all business that pertains to the state budget. He lives halfway between Syracuse and Watertown.
NY CHAPTER ACS UPCOMING ADVOCACY EVENTS
- The New York Chapter will participate in a press conference on 1/13/2020 to help launch the Statewide Campaign to Ban Flavored Tobacco.
- Mark your calendars for New York Chapter ACS PAC Reception is May 4th and Annual Advocacy Day: Tuesday, May 5, 2020!
