The New York State Teachers (NYSUT), as well as 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) United Healthcare Workers East - which joined with the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) to issue a statement, are responding to Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed New York State Budget.

1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East President George Gresham joined with GNYHA President Kenneth Raske to issue the following statement:

In her State of the State address on January 9th, Governor Hochul noted that “hospitals in New York are struggling financially more than in the rest of the U.S - 42% of hospital facilities in New York had an operating deficit in 2021.”

The Governor did not mention that the figure rose to 63% in 2022.

The root cause of this crisis is that New York’s Medicaid Program funds hospitals 30% less than the actual cost of delivering care.

(The) State Budget announcement was an opportunity for the Governor to set a new course, but she did not.

It’s no wonder that so many hospitals are in deep financial trouble and critical health indicators are worsening, especially in low-income communities.

The Executive Branch makes frequent mention of the 7.5% Medicaid rate increase for hospitals in last year’s budget.

But that increase - after the rate remained essentially flat for 15 years - was almost completely wiped out by the budget’s hospital cuts (e.g., cuts to the Indigent Care Pool and the 340B drug program).

Given these cuts, the effective rate increase was only 1.6%, about one-quarter of the cost increases that hospitals have experienced.

New York State must end the drastic underfunding of care for Medicaid recipients.

1199SEIU and GNYHA will continue to educate all those willing on the urgent need to increase New York’s Medicaid reimbursement rate for hospitals to 100% of cost over several years and strive for ‘health care justice’ for all New Yorkers by reducing health care disparities and improving health outcomes for low-income, predominantly Black and Brown Communities.

We will also work with stakeholders to tackle the real cost drivers of New York’s Medicaid program, such as the unsustainable growth rate of managed long-term care.

We call again on the Governor and the Legislature to join us in achieving those goals.

1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East - whose mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all, is the largest and fastest-growing Health Care Union in America, representing more than 400,000 Nurses and Caregivers throughout Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Florida, as well as in Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, NYSUT President Melinda Person released the following statement:

We share the Governor's ambitious vision for public schools that invests in addressing student mental health, expanding professional opportunities for Educators and enhancing our approach to teaching reading.

Particularly in fulfilling the State’s promise to fully fund Foundation Aid, the Governor has been clear she wants our public schools, colleges, universities and hospitals to be as strong as possible and to position New York as an ‘economic and innovation powerhouse.’

The Foundation Aid formula is how we determine what resources our schools need.

We're concerned that the executive budget proposal includes modifications to the formula to reduce School Aid costs.

The critical need to consistently support our students and Educators should not vary with the fluctuations in our State tax revenue.

We know this proposal is just the start of the budget process and we are happy to work with the Governor and Legislature to ensure the State can continue to completely fund the education opportunities that New York’s students deserve.

NYSUT represents 700,000 members in Education, Human Services and Health Care and is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.