New York’s Medicaid program is the most costly of any state in the country and costs 82% above the national average. Now, that program is getting more expensive as New York adds "Arts Therapy" to the long list of qualifying programs in New York’s Medicaid big bucket of services.
Every Medicaid add-on costs every Suffolk County taxpayer and every taxpayer across the state more money.
Despite the already Cadillac Medicaid program in New York State, Assemblyman Harry Bronson (D-Roch.) and state Sen. Samra Brouk (D-Roch.) have proposed and passed a bill that will add even more expense to the taxpayer. Under this legislation, creative arts therapists will be on the same funding platforms as other mental health providers such as family and individual therapists. The techniques can include dancing, painting, singing, and crafts. It is believed that these programs can be especially helpful to non-English speakers.
According to The Empire Center’s report on the most recent data on Medicaid spending in New York, New Yorkers pay about “$4,800 per resident, which was more than any other state and 82% above the national average.”
Recent data shows that New York’s per capita Medicaid spending rose 14%. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report that at the end of the last fiscal year, New York spent $95.6 billion on Medicaid. Medicaid is funded from taxpayer funds through the Federal, State, and County budgets.
South Shore Press (SSP) reached out to Suffolk County leaders to get the exact amount spent by Suffolk County taxpayers for their portion of Medicaid spending, as well as any trends in Medicaid spending and their thoughts on the State adding programs. Spending of taxpayer money is something that is public information and should be readily given to the public and press.
The Office of Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine refused to comment to the South Shore Press and refused to provide public information on Medicaid costs.
SSP was directed to contact the Department of Social Services (DSS) for the Medicaid figure. We did as asked. After several emails back and forth with DSS, SSP was asked to contact Mike Martino, Director of Communications for Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine. SSP called and left multiple messages for Mr. Martino and sent emails several times. He refused to answer.
SSP waded through the recently released budget documents and found that Suffolk County is proposing approximately $287 million in Medicaid expenses in the next budget including provider costs and compliance programs. Efforts to confirm these numbers and put them in context with previous years and the County’s perspective on Medicaid expansion went unanswered. For a program that costs Suffolk taxpayers over a quarter of a billion dollars, it is difficult to understand why County elected officials would not answer the most basic of questions.
Other elected officials and experts on the subject matter were more than willing to talk to SSP about how Suffolk County taxpayer funds are spent.
Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick (R,C,I-Smithtown) said, “I haven’t talked to anyone, even my most conservative of friends, who has ever suggested that people that are down and out should not receive medical care. No reasonable or compassionate person would ever suggest that.”
“At the same time, this ever-expanding Medicaid program is kind of the same logic that the minimum wage should now support a family of four. The minimum wage was never designed to do that. And, this is why there is talk of a $20/hour minimum wage across the board. When you apply this thinking to Medicaid, that Medicaid should cover everything, and you still expect your state to be competitive and keep your tax burden reasonable, you have to consider what you are asking of the taxpayer. How much more can we expect families to pay in taxes?” Fitzpatrick added.
Fitzpatrick said, “I don't doubt that arts therapy can help some people, but it's just going too far. We can't afford to sustain this, and this is part of why people are leaving NY, businesses are leaving, and the tax burden just continues to climb to pay for all of these programs. My friends on the other side of the aisle just keep saying, ‘Well, we need the rich to pay their fair share and they never define that.”
“When is enough, enough? At what point when you're spending 82% above the national average do you think about stopping expansion and even cutting back? I've heard stories that some in other states are saying if you want this covered go to New York They'll pay for it and all you have to do is wait 30 days before you're eligible. So, we all know that we've just become so liberal that we can't afford the ideology any longer,” said Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick concluded, “If we could run government like a business, we could be very efficient very quickly. But you'd upset an awful lot of people just as quickly. In the end, we have to have programs and budgets that our taxpaying constituents can afford, and we are well beyond that right now.”
Ken Giardin, Director of Research at Empire Center for Public Policy, said “There are a lot of places where the state should be looking to bring down cost so that more people can afford insurance. But, the state's focus has been exclusively on paying more to cover more people for more programs.”
“So, an example I always go back to is MRIs. MRIs are crazy expensive,” Girardin added. “Part of the reason they're crazy expensive is because we don't let companies come into New York and compete and build new MRI facilities. That is what lowers prices. We do the same thing with lots of different surgical things, lots of different treatments.”
Giardin went on to say, “The hospitals are content to have monopolies. The hospitals don't want competition because if suddenly they can't get the same amount of money for the MRIs, then that affects their bottom line.”