SG1: Medicaid Reform

The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce believes that the State of New York needs to provide a greater percentage of the funding for the Medicaid program. The local funding contribution in most other states is significantly lower. The current formula for financing the program has resulted in a tremendous unfunded mandate being imposed upon New York’s county governments. This burden has driven property taxes unnecessarily high and has caused unwarranted cuts in vital county services.

The Chamber urges the Governor and the State Legislature to immediately cap the amount of money counties are required to pay for Medicaid. Once the cap is in place, the State should immediately phase in a plan to make the counties’ share of Medicaid comparable to the local share paid in other states.

Finally, the State should re-evaluate its Medicaid program and consider cost-cutting and eligibility reforms such as:

  • adjusting the benefits being offered to Medicaid recipients in New York, with the goal of keeping New York’s benefit package comparable to the benefit package offered in other large states and/or private health insurance plans used by many New Yorkers.
  • giving the counties the option to elect to cover or not to cover services that are optional under Federal Medicaid law.
  • making use of co-pays.
  • making better use of managed care and HMOs.
  • requiring 90-day state residency.
  • using asset tests similar to those used in most other states.
  • encouraging the purchase of long term health care insurance.

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