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[MM Curator Summary]: Providers screeching for a rate increase upon the news of a 7% bump- “Yay!” Big Union Bosses at SEIU with tentacles in the NY Medicaid program- “… not so fast.”
Hospitals and nursing homes in New York could receive a higher reimbursement rate under a tentative agreement in the state budget.
But a broader deal for a state spending plan was not finalized on Thursday, and state lawmakers have left Albany for the next several days as issues addressing climate change are yet to be locked down.
A source Thursday said Medicaid reimbursement rates will increase for hospitals by 7.5%. For nursing homes, the rate will increase by 6.5%.
The health care workers union 1199SEIU called the tentative plan not nearly enough.
“Providers serving the most vulnerable New Yorkers are emerging from the pandemic considerably weakened by soaring costs, the end of dedicated Federal funding and a decade of flat Medicaid rates,” said the union’s president George Gresham.
Health care networks have pointed to financial complications in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and had sought reimbursement rates of 10% in the budget. Gov. Kath Hochul’s initial proposal called for 5% increases.
New York’s Medicaid program is the second largest in the country and health care spending is the biggest item in the state budget.
Even as framework deals are reached on issues like the child tax credit, other provisions remained unresolved.
Democrats in the state Assembly met for several hours on Thursday in a closed-door meeting and wrestled over policies addressing climate change including measures for all-electric construction. A proposal to align the state’s utility regulations with the goals of a sweeping climate law is off the table, a source said.
Hochul on Tuesday told reporters she was optimistic for a deal before the week was over. But Assembly Democrats are not expected back until Sunday to discuss budget details.