The Hurlbut LLC issued the following announcement on April 9
Cuomo’s new $177 billion budget follows the recommendations of the state’s Medicaid Redesign Team, first empaneled in 2011, and requires counties to cap their Medicaid growth rate to three percent annually from here on out. The move, which is in addition to a prior cut enacted in January, supposedly addresses a $2.5 billion budget gap that Cuomo administration officials blame on Medicaid spending increases in recent years.
In addressing the budget gap in this way, Cuomo and his budget office automatically risk losing more than $6 billion in federal aid slated for Medicaid in New York State. Why would the Governor risk losing billions of dollars in federal aid for those who need it most?
If this move seems heartless, it’s because it is. Our state is the epicenter of the pandemic in the US. The vast majority of New Yorkers dying from the virus are in their 70s or older. And many of them qualify for Medicaid.
Slashing Medicaid is not the only bad decision made by Cuomo during this crisis. In fact, the health and welfare of seniors in nursing homes and long-term care, as well as the plight of those who provide care for them, are being ignored.
Governor Cuomo continues to say that Upstate has all of the personal protective equipment (PPE) it needs. That is a lie.
Our healthcare practitioners and staff are working day and night to keep residents safe. But our employees, much like hospitals and healthcare facilities across the state, do not have PPE needed for the projected duration.
We have reached out to the Office of Emergency Management in each county where we operate in a plea for more PPE and each has said no – not even offering the PPE that they initially promised. While we are currently managing to provide PPE to staff, using creative solutions, we are unsure what the coming weeks will bring.
Hurlbut Care Communities are not alone in this public health crisis. Nursing homes and long-term care facilities across the state are being woefully undersupplied by the Governor and his administration, who are focusing their energy on downstate hospitals. It appears that the lives of those in NYC are more important than those here in Upstate.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up