New York State Assembly Rejects Pataki’s Health Care Package

The Democratic majority in the New York state Assembly on Jan. 14 "rejected" Gov. George Pataki's (R) request to pass his proposed health care package, saying it could not support some of the program cuts contained in the bill, the New York Times reports. "There are a lot of cuts the governor proposes that are not acceptable," including reductions in payments to pharmacies that serve Medicaid beneficiaries and cuts in aid for parents of disabled children, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D) said. However, Silver said that most Assembly Democrats do support giving raises to hospital workers, one of the main features of Pataki's proposal. The Times reports that the health care package is "widely seen ... as a political deal" between Dennis Rivera, the head of the "powerful" New York City hospital workers union, 1199/SEIU, and Pataki, who is running for re-election this year. The plan would increase Medicaid payments to hospitals, nursing homes and home health agencies by more than $300 million a year so they could raise workers' salaries. The plan also assumes a increase in federal Medicaid funds and would use a "one-time infusion" of $1 billion from the conversion of Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield to a for-profit company, as well as an increase in the state's cigarette tax to finance new and expanded programs. The proposal would cut Medicaid reimbursements to pharmacists, as well as subsidies for part-time clinics, families with disabled children and screening for children with learning disabilities. Aides to Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R) said Republicans generally support the package except for some items, such as the cuts in free services to children with disabilities. Many Democrats would like to use some of the money from the conversion to set up a foundation to study ways to improve health care for the poor. In addition, Silver said that many Democrats questioned the closed-door nature of the negotiations surrounding Pataki's proposal, as talks have largely been contained to Rivera and legislative leaders. However, the governor, who has asked lawmakers to approve the package this week without public hearings, said the "secretive" negotiations were necessary to keep advocacy groups from "sink[ing]" the bill. "The process is the process. But what I'm interested in is the results," Pataki said (McKinley, New York Times, 1/15).