Thousands of health care workers in New York, including on the North Side, protested Gov. Cathy Hochul’s proposed 2024 state budget. They said her budget ignores basic health care needs and doesn’t take into account the current state of New York’s health care “It’s important to preserve jobs and care,” said Mary Wilsey, vice president of 1199 SEIU North Country. “Where are our patients and residents going to go if they don’t have local access to health care?” Some health workers said the effects of the pandemic have not been overcome and are still affecting them today. They cited problems such as emergency rooms being overcrowded, long wait times for home care services and safety net hospitals and nursing homes not getting the funding they need. “I’ve seen small hospitals close and then people have to travel more than hour to receive quality health care,” Chris Inney, a health worker at CVPH, said. Those health workers said the governor’s proposed fiscal year 2024 budget cuts $700 million in safety net funding, cuts wages for home care workers care and fails to provide adequate funding to support nursing homes. They are calling on New York’s elected leaders to invest $2.5 billion in health care. They are also asking them to not only restore $700 million in funding to the Network for safety, but also increase it by an additional $600 million.For North Side advocates, one of the biggest issues they’re fighting for, however, is closing the Medicaid coverage gap. They said upstate New York gets 25 percent less than other parts of the state because of the number of patients. Hochul’s budget includes a statewide 5 percent increase in Medicaid reimbursements, which would be the largest increase in two decades. However, some health and local elected officials said the increase was fully offset by the elimination of the 340B drug pricing program and cuts to the indigent care pool. North Country People are asking the governor to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates by 10% for hospitals and 20% for uncompensated nursing homes. One health care worker told NBC5, “I can’t imagine a company staying open and getting 75 cents for every dollar spent. How does it buy supplies, invest in technology to improve care and pay its employees when it never gets paid for hospital operations and nursing home supplies?” Hochul responded to statewide protests against her proposed budget, telling NBC5: “The fiscal 2024 executive budget takes steps to expand coverage, improve health outcomes and reduce unnecessary financial burdens on our state’s health care system.” But New York Assemblyman Billy Jones disagrees. He hopes Hochul will adjust his proposal with their counterproposals.. “It’s a very reasonable proposal to bridge that gap,” Jones said. “We didn’t ask for everything at once, but we’re closing that gap.” Of course, we don’t want to see zeros as it expands. “Officials from 1199 SEIU, the health care union local, also said they hope the governor will consider their proposal. They said their points must be heeded if they want to keep affordable quality health care in the North Country.
Thousands of healthcare workers in New York, including on the North Side, protested Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed 2024 state budget on Wednesday.
They said her budget ignores basic health care needs and doesn’t address the current state of New York’s health care system.
“It’s important to preserve jobs and care,” said Mary Wilsey, vice president of 1199 SEIU North Country. “Where will our patients and residents go if they don’t have local access to health care?”
Some health workers said the effects of the pandemic have not been overcome and are still affecting them to this day.
They cited problems such as overcrowded emergency departments, long waiting times for home care services and hospitals and care homes not receiving the funding they need.
“I’ve watched small hospitals close and then people have to travel over an hour to get quality health care,” said Chris Enney, CVPH health worker.
Those health care workers said the governor’s proposed fiscal 2024 state budget cuts $700 million in Social Security funding, cuts wages for home care workers and doesn’t provide adequate funding to support nursing homes.
They are calling on New York’s elected leaders to invest $2.5 billion in health care.
In addition, they want them to not only restore the $700 million in safety net funding, but increase it by an additional $600 million.
For North Country advocates, one of the biggest issues they’re fighting for is closing the Medicaid coverage gap.
They said upstate New York gets 25 percent less than other parts of the state because of the number of patients.
Hochul’s budget includes a 5 percent statewide increase in Medicaid reimbursements, which would be the largest increase in two decades.
However, some health and local elected officials said the increase was fully offset by the elimination of the 340B drug pricing program and cuts to the indigent care pool.
People on the North Side want the governor to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates by 10 percent for hospitals and 20 percent for uncompensated nursing homes.
One health care worker told NBC5, “I can’t think of a company that would stay open and get 75 cents for every dollar spent. How does it buy supplies, invest in technology to improve care, and pay its employees when it never gets paid to operate the hospital and supply the nursing home?”
Hochul responded to nationwide protests against her proposed budget, telling NBC5:
“The FY 2024 Executive Budget takes steps to expand coverage, improve health outcomes, and reduce unnecessary financial burdens on our state’s health care system.”
New York Assemblyman Billy Jones, however, disagrees. He hopes Hochul will adjust his proposal with their counter proposals.
“This is a very sensible proposal to bridge that gap,” Jones said. “We didn’t ask for everything at once, but we’re closing that gap.” Of course, we don’t want to see zeros as it expands.”
Officials with 1199 SEIU, the local health care union, also said they hope the governor will consider their proposal.
They said their points must be considered if they want to keep quality health care affordable in the North Country.