OC Executive Neuhaus Says State’s Withholding Federal Medicaid Dollars Hurts Taxpayers

The Orange County Government Center in Goshen, N.Y., on Oct. 22, 2022.Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Orange County, New York, Executive Steve Neuhaus said Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to boost state Medicaid spending for the coming fiscal year comes at a cost to local taxpayers.

In her newly released state budget, Hochul proposes a stop to a longstanding practice of passing enhanced federal Medicaid dollars under the Affordable Care Act to county governments.

Instead, the money will be retained for increased state-level spending.

The proposed withholding is estimated to be $280 million for 57 counties outside New York City, according to an analysis by the New York State Association of Counties.

Orange County’s share is $9.8 million, according to Neuhaus.

“Withholding nearly $10 million for Medicaid is a shift to County property taxpayers,” Neuhaus said in a Feb. 1 press release. “It is Albany making life less affordable for Orange County residents.”

If the withholding extends to New York City, the estimated impact could go up to $1 billion.

The Epoch Times reached out to Gov. Hochul’s office for comment.

In her budget, Hochul proposes the largest ever state Medicaid spending, totaling $34.7 billion.

Her plan includes a five percent increase in reimbursement rates for hospitals and nursing homes, new primary care and preventive benefits, and an expanded buy-in program for the disabled.

Aside from Medicaid, her budget also calls for $1 billion in new health care facilities, $30 million annual investment in emergency medical services, and additional spending in long-term care.

Last year, Hochul announced a multi-year $20 billion investment in the health care industry, including $1.2 billion in worker retention bonuses, $7.7 billion for minimum wage increases, and $500 million in cost-of-living adjustments in wages.

Payroll Mobility Tax Hike

Neuhaus also opposes Hochul’s plan to raise payroll mobility taxes on businesses in the service area of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), including Orange County.

“The state’s inability to produce a budget which reflects the priorities of New Yorkers is alarming. It is no wonder that, in the last two years alone, half a million residents have fled New York,” he said in the press release.

Hochul said in her budget address that the MTA is on a fiscal cliff, a problem primarily created by the almost complete halt of ridership during the pandemic.

“This is not going to be a short-term problem. It’s one we are going to have to face together going forward and requires fiscal discipline and action at all levels of government,” she said.

She proposes a multi-faced solution to save the agency from financial ruin, including raising payroll mobility taxes from 0.34 percent to 0.5 percent, which is estimated to bring in an additional $800 million.

Formerly called the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax, the tax is imposed on certain employers and self-employed individuals within the MTA service area.

Other plans to save the MTA include $300 million in one-time state aid, $400 million in improving MTA operating efficiencies, and around half a billion in tax revenues from downstate casinos.

The state is due to pass a budget by Apr. 1.