State Budget Hearing On Health And Hunger (full)

On February 11, the NYS Legislature held its state budget hearing on health care. The Governor is seeking to increase health care spending, largely for Medicaid, to $134 billion, a increase of over 7%. Almost all of that is for Medicaid, with the federal government expected to pay $70 billion of the cost. Medicaid enrollment is projected to remain about 900,000 enrollees higher than pre-pandemic levels, with a total population of seven million enrollees through March of 2025. However, President Trump has made it clear that he wants significant reductions in federal funding of Medicaid, which is likely to create major revenue problems for the state. We hear from Helen Schaub , Vice President of 1199 SEIU, the largest and most powerful health care union; Mia Wagner of Health Care for All NY; and Lara Kassel of Medicaid Matters New York. We finish with hunger advocates, Rev. Dustin Longmire of the Schenectady County Food Council Advocacy and Empowerment Working Group; and Natasha Pernicka of Alliance for a Hunger Free New York. Noticeably absent was a strong call for NY Health, a single payer proposal. This has been Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.