GNYHA/1199 SEIU HEALTHCARE EDUCATION PROJECT STATEMENT ON GOVERNOR PATERSON’S HEALTHCARE CUTS

Yesterday, Governor David Paterson submitted a one-week emergency budget extension proposal to the State Legislature that contains $775 million in permanent cuts to healthcare, including damaging cuts to hospitals, nursing homes, and homecare.

No segment of the State budget other than healthcare has been singled out for cuts in this budget extension legislation. It is outrageous that a financially struggling healthcare community that has already suffered seven rounds of State cuts and tax increases over the last three years—more than any other sector of State spending—would be singled out for such pain. There is no “shared sacrifice” in this budget proposal.

The Medicaid and charity care cuts in the budget extension legislation are of deepest concern. They will undermine the ability of Medicaid providers to survive and to continue to be the safety net for low-income and uninsured New Yorkers. They will mean loss of access to care, loss of jobs, and bankruptcy. Many hospitals in New York State have closed over the last few years—including St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan a little over a month ago—and this budget will lead to even more closures and reductions in services.  In addition, Senate Healthcare Committee Chair Tom Duane's proposal to rearrange charity care funding for safety net hospitals would make matters even worse.

Instead of negotiating the healthcare budget in one weekend, and in a vacuum, the Legislature should insist on a full budget negotiation that includes shared sacrifice from all sectors and revenues that will improve public health, such as a tax on unhealthy beverages and tobacco.

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With 350,000 members in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland and Washington D.C., 1199 SEIU is the largest and fastest growing healthcare union in the country. Our mission is to achieve affordable, high quality healthcare for all.