Governor Hochul justifies Medicaid and school-aid cuts

This year’s state budget negotiations are centered around Governor Hochul’s efforts to control the fastest-growing spending categories, contrasting with the desires of her fellow Democrats in the Legislature who seek to maintain current spending levels.

Hochul’s focus is on serving the taxpaying public, while the Assembly and state Senate majorities are more inclined to appease various special interests, including tax-eating unions.

According to state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, Medicaid and school aid constitute the two largest General Fund spending categories, accounting for 47% of this fiscal year’s spending and projected to reach 52.4% in three years.

Over the last three years, Medicaid spending has increased by 40%, while state school aid has also been on the rise despite a decrease in total enrollment since 2000.

Hochul’s proposal includes a more than 4% increase in total school aid, but she resists fully supporting districts with significantly lower student populations, which is the case for most districts in the state.

Lawmakers argue that this approach is unfair. On the Medicaid front, Hochul aims to reduce spending by $1 billion from the previous year through reforms such as in the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program.

The Legislature proposes a complex strategy to leverage Medicaid rules to secure an additional $4 billion in federal funding, which some may view as questionable tactics. The underlying issue here revolves around the strong resistance from teachers unions against any cuts in education funding, and the pushback from health-worker union 1199 SEIU against potential Medicaid savings.

The special interests, including hospitals and local school bureaucracies, aligned with the unions are staunch proponents of maintaining current spending levels without any cuts.

Despite New York’s significant per-student education spending and Medicaid expenditures, the state’s outcomes in these areas remain average, suggesting a lack of efficiency in spending.

Hochul is right to advocate for the public’s interest over special interests, but convincing the Legislature may result in a prolonged standoff and a delayed budget approval.

In conclusion, a swift resolution to the budget negotiations would likely be detrimental to the average New Yorker’s interests.