SCHENECTADY Schumer defends health reform legislation BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer insists that the Senate’s version of the health care reform bill will save New York money and vehemently disputes that the state is getting the short end of the stick. Schumer, the Senate’s thirdranking Democrat, said the bill that passed on Christmas Eve protects the perks New York now enjoys and will bring real health care reform to the state. He said fears over the fiscal impact of the bill voiced recently by several state associations and Gov. David Paterson are largely unfounded. “Make no mistake about it, this bill is a very good thing,” he said during a visit to Proctors Theatre on Tuesday. “Each step of the way, we’ve gotten good things for New York.” For instance, Schumer said, the bill isn’t expected to raise the number of state Medicare subscribers as the Paterson administration recently asserted. The bill has no provision that would force the roughly 1.7 million uninsured Medicaid-eligible New Yorkers to seek coverage through the state’s system, according to estimates provided by Schumer’s office. Schumer also said the bill wouldn’t have any fiscal impact on the state until 2015. Even then, he disputed the governor’s $1 billion estimate of what the bill will cost the state annually. Schumer said part of that fi gure includes about $400 million in economic stimulus funding for Medicaid that will be funneled directly to the 62 counties instead of the state. He said the redirection of the funding is being misconstrued as a cut. ...................>>>>................>>>>................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01100&AppName=1
Blue state govs. rip Senate health bill By: Alex Isenstadt December 29, 2009 07:08 PM EST
The governors of the nation’s two largest Democratic states are leveling sharp criticism at the Senate health care bill, claiming that it would leave their already financially strapped states even deeper in the hole.
New York Democratic Gov. David Paterson and California GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are urging congressional leaders to rework the Medicaid financing in the Senate-passed bill, warning that under that version their states will be crushed by billions in new costs.
After the Senate passed the bill in a Christmas Eve vote, Paterson said the expansion would leave New York $1 billion in the lurch. The state faces a $6.8 billion budget shortfall heading into the 2010 fiscal year.
“[I] am deeply troubled that the Senate version of the bill worsens what was already an inequitable situation for New York and I will continue to be an advocate on behalf of New Yorkers to ensure we are treated fairly by this critical federal legislation,” Paterson said in a statement.
In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Schwarzenegger wrote that the legislation would create a “crushing new burden” for a state with a whopping $20.7 billion budget deficit.
“When asked for my support, I was assured that federal legislation would not increase costs to California or include new unfunded mandates,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “Unfortunately, under nearly every scenario we can predict, the federal health care reform legislation being debated would cost California’s General Fund an additional $3 billion to $4 billion annually.”
The resistance from the governors of two Democratic megastates underscores the anxieties facing states as they grapple with the prospect of a massive expansion of the Medicaid program.
The problem is that New York and California, both of which already have expansive Medicaid programs, will pay a higher share of the new expansion costs than many other states that have traditionally limited coverage.
“The inequity built into the bill puts hardship on states and would put them in the position of making cuts to providers,” said Susan Van Meter, vice president of federal relations for the Healthcare Association of New York State. .............>>>>..............................>>>>..............http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/31032.html
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