NYC Comptroller's Office Press Office


PR03-05-044		May 7, 2003
Contact: Press Office		212-669-3747

THOMPSON STUDY: GOVERNOR'S MEDICAID BUDGET UNFAIRLY TARGETS NEW YORK CITY FOR FUNDING CUTS

View Policy Report

A policy study released today by New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. demonstrated that the Governor's budget proposal unfairly and disproportionately targeted New York City's hospitals for funding reductions. The analysis examines the impact of the Governor's Executive Budget on City hospitals, including facilities within the Health and Hospitals Corporation system.

Thompson's Policy Brief on Medicaid also determined that the State Executive Budget proposed to change the formulas for the local share of Medicaid costs in a way that would increase New York City's expenses. The result: New York City would be the only local government in the State whose share of Medicaid costs would increase - by an estimated $255 million - as a result of this change.

Thompson is calling on members of the State Legislature, which has passed its own budget package that addressed the worst inequities of the Governor's proposal, to maintain their resolve despite the Governor's threat to veto their plan.

Some additional findings in the Policy Brief include:

The New York City hospital industry operates 48% of the State's hospital beds, but under the Governor's plan would lose 75% to 85% of the total Medicaid revenue lost by all hospitals statewide;

HHC hospitals operate only 9% of hospital beds statewide, but would lose 26% to 29% of the total Medicaid revenue lost by all New York State hospitals;

Seventy three percent of the State's interns and residents train at hospitals in New York City, yet New York City's hospital industry accounts for 90% to 93% of the graduate medical education revenue loss statewide. HHC hospitals would absorb 50% to 60% of the reductions in reimbursements for training the State's graduate medical students, although it trains only 14% of these students.

"I am urging all responsible legislators to stand firm in the face of the Governor's threatened veto to ensure that New York City and its hospitals are not unfairly burdened with these cuts," Thompson said. "We cannot afford to ignore those who rely on New York's publicly funded health insurance programs."

The Comptroller noted that, under Pataki's plan, the State would exact $1.5 billion in new cuts from State Medicaid funding for facilities, extend prior cuts that originally were to have ended this year, and re-institute a tax on provider revenues. Many of these reductions penalized HHC for following the State's instruction to reduce hospital beds and the size of its training programs for medical students.