| Medicaid up for now, but highways,
justice hurting Federal budget mixed blessing for NYS By SHERRY HALBROOK New York state ended up with a $3.014 billion aid hike under the 2001-02 federal budget bills passed by Congress last December for the federal budget year that began last October. All but 10 percent of the increase was for Medicaid, and was more than $38 million above the Medicaid level proposed for New York by President George Bush. The Medicaid funding was up for all programs, except the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Most other NYS agencies received modest increases in federal aid, according to PEF’s chief fiscal analyst, Tom Cetrino. However, two state agencies were hit with substantial cuts in federal funding they depend on. “The state Transportation Department (DOT) lost $108 million and the Division of Criminal Justice Services was cut by $32 million,” Cetrino said. “Gov. George Pataki wanted more federal aid for transportation to help offset the defeat of the state Transportation Bond Act at the polls last November,” Cetrino said. “But, instead of getting more federal transportation aid, New York got a lot less.” The state still has one hope left for federal help with its transportation costs, he said. “DOT will probably get some of the $90 million federal emergency supplemental appropriation to repair highways in New York and other states that were damaged by the September 11 terrorist attacks,” Cetrino said. Congress went along with the president’s proposal to eliminate grants for the Violent Offender and Truth-in-Sentencing program, which cost approximately 30 positions at the state Division of Parole. The state did get $9.63 million in emergency federal funds to help criminal-justice programs affected as first responders following the terrorist attacks. According to Cetrino, it’s still too soon to tell if any of this money will be available for state operations. And the president continues to say he will keep his promise to give New York state a total of $20 billion in recovery aid. So far, the state has received about half of that. The state also received $33.4 million to fight bio-terrorism, some of which may go to the state Health Department. “It’s important for PEF’s statewide labor-management chairs to ask about the effect of federal funding on their agencies, when they meet to discuss the governor’s Executive Budget proposal,” Cetrino said. Meanwhile, in early February, the president announced his federal budget proposal for fiscal 2002-03, and PEF has already identified some worrisome areas. They include reduced Medicaid funding and a plan to take veterans’ employment services away from the states and turn them over to the US Veterans Administration — a move that could threaten the jobs of many PEF members at the state Labor Department who now provide those services to New York’s veterans. PEF is also concerned about a Bush proposal to stop paying the administrative costs for the unemployment insurance program and shift that burden to states. And federal transportation aid will again be a concern under the new federal budget proposal. Bush’s budget proposal does not include money to make up the remainder of the $20 billion in recovery aid. “We’ll continue to work with our PEF labor-management committees and our international affiliates to analyze how these enacted and proposed changes in federal funding may affect our members and the public services they provide,” Cetrino said. |
 State writes $142.5M Rx to treat understaffing at public hospitals, nursing homes State hospitals are among the public and private health-care facilities in line to receive millions of dollars under the state’s new Health Care Reform Act. The bill, which aims to improve patient care by addressing understaffing, was proposed by Gov. George Pataki at the urging of SEIU Local 1199. It was passed and signed into law as the 2002 session opened in January. Generally, the funding provided under HCRA is earmarked for recruitment and retention of non-supervisory employees who directly provide patient care. However, not all of the money for state and other public hospitals has to be used for that purpose. The three medical and teaching centers operated by the state University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook, Brooklyn and Syracuse, and the state Health Department’s Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw will each receive grants over three years. They and other public general hospitals will receive allocations from a total of $107.1 million. They will also receive annual allocations to subsidize treatment of uninsured patients. The SUNY hospitals will share an additional $61.5 million each year under this provision. It also appears the state’s three nursing homes for veterans will receive funding over three years from a separate allocation of $35.4 million for public nursing homes. Roswell Park Cancer Institute is no longer a state Health Department facility, but a public-benefit corporation. The governor’s memo which accompanied the HCRA legislation calls for Roswell Park to receive $150 million over three years. However, the new law only shows an increase of $45 million in 2002 and $23 million in 2003. It is unclear if the remainder is meant to come from the governor’s discretionary fund. The funds to pay for HCRA are supposed to come from New York’s share of the settlement with tobacco companies and from an assumed increase in the federal government’s share of Medicaid costs from 50 percent to 53 percent — something the federal budget director has already said the Bush Administration does not favor doing for New York state. — Sherry Halbrook |