by admin | Jan 30, 2020 | News
On January 29th, the Medicaid Matters Coordinator delivered the following testimony at the Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on the Governor’s proposed Health/Medicaid budget:
Thank you for the opportunity to address you today. My name is Lara Kassel. I am the Coordinator of Medicaid Matters New York. Medicaid Matters is the statewide coalition representing the interests of the over six-and-half million New Yorkers who are served by New York’s Medicaid program. Since 2003, over 100 coalition members – consumers, individual advocates, legal services attorneys, representatives of community-based organizations and community-based providers – have been working to advance the interests of people covered by Medicaid.
Medicaid Redesign Team II
Members of the Medicaid Matters New York coalition are pleased there are no direct cuts to services or eligibility in the budget. However, the Governor is calling for a reconvening of a Medicaid Redesign Team and charging it with finding savings to the tune of $2.5 billion. Medicaid Matters New York calls on the Governor to include the meaningful participation of consumers, advocates, community-based organizations and community-based providers on the Medicaid Redesign Team II.
History has shown a Medicaid Redesign Team process can be a way of pushing through changes and cuts under the guise of reform, with little meaningful consumer and community input. In 2011, I sat on the first MRT as the lone consumer representative (along with a consumer-oriented foundation executive). Similarly to this year’s proposal, we were tasked with finding cuts that would fill a multi-billion dollar budget gap in a very short amount of time. Hearings were held across the state, and a series of public MRT meetings took place, but little connection was drawn between consumer and community input, the public MRT dialogue and what was presented as a package for approval in mid-February of that year, far earlier than what the projected timeline for the MRT process had prescribed. A second-round MRT met later that year, at which point two consumer representatives were added. Consumer representation was more robust during the ensuing workgroup process, though consumer and community representation was not adequate across all of the ten MRT workgroups.
The Governor has announced co-chairs of an MRT II, from within the hospital industry and labor, yet Medicaid Matters leaders and partners are not aware of any contact by the Cuomo administration to invite consumers or consumer representatives to serve. Tasking a group of stakeholders with finding ways to achieve a more fiscally-sustainable program without including consumer perspective would be irresponsible and inappropriate. An MRT II must include a variety of perspectives, including (but not necessarily limited to) those of people with disabilities, older adults, people in historically-underserved communities, and people of color.
The Governor’s budget proposal turns its back on this commitment by leaving the fate of the program up to a process that could easily be rushed and with little chance for meaningful public dialogue. It also bypasses a legislative process or, at the very least, forces the Legislature to act on MRT II recommendations at the eleventh hour. Without careful attention to the impact of recommended efficiencies, there is significant risk to the New Yorkers who rely on Medicaid to keep them well, financially stable, and independent.
Medicaid Local Share
The Governor has attributed a significant portion of the increase in Medicaid state spending to the takeover of the local share from the counties. The Governor’s budget proposes a penalty to local districts for growth in Medicaid spending. Medicaid Matters is continuing to analyze whether this proposal will harm consumers. However, tying the growth in long term care spending to Medicaid eligibility determination made by local districts is erroneous and misplaced. With the exception of an exceedingly small population, local districts do not determine eligibility for long term care services. In fact, this is the result of the first MRT’s recommendation to eliminate the fee-for-service system and to mandate enrollment in Medicaid managed care plans that make those service determinations. Local districts now only determine financial eligibility for Medicaid for a subset of New Yorkers. The eligibility rules themselves are set by federal and state rules.
New York has attained one of the highest percentages of residents with health insurance in the country, thanks largely to the Affordable Care Act and the subsequent increase in Medicaid enrollment. New York should continue to celebrate this achievement and support efforts to provide eligible New Yorkers with Medicaid coverage.
Conclusion
Let us be reminded of the intent of the Medicaid program: to provide coverage and access to low-income people and people with disabilities. New York State has a rich history of providing a high-quality, comprehensive Medicaid program that honors that intent. Medicaid Matters urges state policymakers to maintain its unwavering commitment to the Medicaid program and thoughtfully address the budget crisis by preserving its strengths. New York must show the nation that in times of financial challenge, we stand by our families, children, seniors and people with disabilities. To do that, our leaders must:
– Take a holistic approach and avoid taking from one area of the budget to bolster another;
– Look beyond one budget year to make smart, strategic investments;
– Enact revenue options to balance the budget, rather than expecting low-income people and people with disabilities to bear the brunt of the state’s fiscal woes; and
– Establish an open process for meaningful public input and robust consumer representation to come up with policy and budget goals that honor the intent of the program.
Medicaid Matters looks forward to working with the Cuomo administration and the Legislature to reach a budget we can all be proud of.
A PDF of the testimony is available here. The archived video of the hearing is available here.
by admin | Jan 24, 2020 | News
Members of the Medicaid Matters New York coalition are deeply disappointed at the Governor’s proposed 2020-2021 budget. Consumer advocates are pleased there seem to be no direct cuts to services or eligibility. However, history has shown a Medicaid Redesign Team process can be a way of pushing through changes and cuts under the guise of reform, with little meaningful consumer and community input. Medicaid Matters New York calls on the Governor to include the meaningful participation of consumers, community-based organizations and community-based providers on the Medicaid Redesign Team II.
The intent of the Medicaid program is to provide coverage and access to low-income people and people with disabilities. New York State has a rich history of providing a high-quality, comprehensive Medicaid program that honors that intent. The Governor’s budget proposal turns its back on this commitment by leaving the fate of the program up to a process that could easily be rushed and with little chance for meaningful public dialogue. This will harm the New Yorkers who rely on Medicaid to keep them well, financially stable, and independent.
The Governor is calling for a reconvening of the Medicaid Redesign Team, yet Medicaid Matters leaders and partners are not aware of any contact by the Cuomo administration to invite consumers or consumer representatives to sit on a so-called “MRT II.” Tasking a group of stakeholders with finding ways to achieve a more fiscally-sustainable program without including consumer perspective would be irresponsible and inappropriate. An MRT II must include a variety of perspectives, including (but not necessarily limited to) those of people with disabilities, older adults, people in historically-underserved communities, and people of color.
Medicaid Matters urges state policymakers to maintain its unwavering commitment to the Medicaid program and thoughtfully address the budget crisis by preserving its strengths. New York must show the nation that in times of financial challenge, we stand by our families, children, seniors and people with disabilities. To do that, our leaders must:
– Take a holistic approach and avoid taking from one area of the budget to bolster another;
– Look beyond one budget year to make smart, strategic investments;
– Enact revenue options to balance the budget, rather than expecting low-income people and people with disabilities to bear the brunt of the state’s fiscal woes; and
– Establish an open process for meaningful public input and robust consumer representation to come up with policy and budget goals that honor the intent of the program.
Medicaid Matters looks forward to working with the Cuomo administration and the Legislature to reach a budget we can all be proud of.
Download this statement here.
by admin | Jan 9, 2020 | Policy & Budget Agenda
Download our 2020 Vision document here.
Medicaid Matters released this statement regarding the Governor’s Executive budget.
The Medicaid Matters Steering Committee put out this statement in response to the seating of a Medicaid Redesign Team.
The Medicaid Matters Coordinator, Lara Kassel, submitted testimony on January 29th at the Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on the Executive Budget on Health/Medicaid.
A flier was generated to provide “an alternate perspective” to the Legislature on Medicaid Matters coalition perspective on the Governor’s approach to Medicaid.
The Medicaid Matters Coordinator, Lara Kassel was interviewed on Capitol Pressroom on March 3, 2020. Lara discussed Medicaid spending as Governor Cuomo’s Medicaid Redesign Team works to find savings in the health care program’s spending.
The Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT II) established by Governor Cuomo in February 2020 opened an online portal for accepting Medicaid redesign proposals from the public. Members of Medicaid Matters submitted dozens of proposals to the MRT II. Medicaid Matters compiled the proposals submitted by several Medicaid Matters members, including the Medicaid Matters submission on reconsideration of the Medicaid global cap.
Medicaid Matters joined with other groups to draft a Statement of Principles on Medicaid and the Medicaid Redesign Team. The statement calls for reconsidering the global cap, rejecting the Governor’s local share proposal, extending the MRT process to be more representative and better equipped to vet proposals, and raise revenue from ultra-wealthy New Yorkers. Over 150 organizations signed on to the statement.
Despite its own directive to do harm, on March 19th, the Medicaid Redesign Team approved a package of Medicaid cuts that will significantly diminish access to services and supports. Advocates issued a series of snapshots of people who will be directly impacted by the cuts.
The Protect Medicaid campaign, along with over 130 other organizations, issued a statement on the MRT package.
The final budget included much of what the Medicaid Redesign Team recommended. Advocates responded with a statement.
by admin | Jan 8, 2020 | News
The 30th annual People’s State of the State event was held at the Capitol on January 7th. The major theme was to urge state policymakers to reject austerity measures and instead raise revenue to provide for the needs of the people of New York. Medicaid Matters Coordinator, Lara Kassel, delivered the following remarks on behalf of the coalition:
“Medicaid Matters is the statewide coalition representing the interests of the people who benefit from New York’s Medicaid program. Our members are individuals, family members, representatives of community-based organizations and community-based providers, legal services agencies, and more.
There are many competing interests in Albany when it comes to Medicaid: hospitals, nursing facilities, the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry… but we are here to remind our state leaders of the purpose of the program: to provide high-quality insurance coverage and access to services for millions of low-income people and people with disabilities. That is the lens through budget decisions must be made.
New York State has a strong history of doing right by people in Medicaid. New York has historically taken the principled approach to have a comprehensive program that provides essential benefits that no one should be expected to go without, services that keep them well, services that keep people living independently in their own homes, services that allow children to stay healthy and ready to learn.
Medicaid is a program that provides economic security and peace of mind so New Yorkers can live productive, independent, healthy lives.
Now we need a program with a realistic budget to prove this state will continue to do the right thing for Medicaid beneficiaries. It is what people need. It is what people are entitled to. It is what people deserve.”
Other presenters included representatives of the New York State Council of Churches, Fiscal Policy Institute, Hunger Action Network, Citizen Action, VOCAL-NY, and Strong Economy for All.
News coverage of the event can be found here.
Recent Comments