(The Center Square)\u00a0Four years ago, New\u00a0York state\u00a0spent more money per resident on Medicaid,\u00a0the joint-federal-state program for the poor and disabled,\u00a0than any other.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today, the\u00a0state spends an\u00a0additional\u00a0$700 per resident\u00a0on Medicaid, a rate of growth that far exceeds that of any other program in\u00a0its\u00a0budget, an investigation by The Center Square found.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Empire State\u00a0spends $4,924 per capita\u00a0on Medicaid, according to state figures.\u00a0By contrast, the next closest state, Kentucky, spent\u00a0$3,700\u00a0in 2022.\u00a0As recently as\u00a02021, Gov. Andrew Cuomo\u2019s last year in office,\u00a0New York\u2019s\u00a0figure was $4,240.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The spike has occurred despite\u00a0a decline in Medicaid enrollment.\u00a0In October 2023,\u00a0a peak of\u00a07.7\u00a0million\u00a0of\u00a0New York\u2019s\u00a019.6\u00a0million\u00a0residents\u00a0were enrolled in the program. Now\u00a06.8\u00a0million are.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Typically,\u00a0shrinking\u00a0enrollment\u00a0would result in\u00a0shrinking state\u00a0spending.\u00a0But\u00a0that\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0happened. The state\u2019s operating funds for Medicaid\u00a0have\u00a0jumped to\u00a0$44.7 billion\u00a0from\u00a0$27.7 billion\u2014a 61.3 percent increase — between 2022 and April of this year when the 2026 budget started.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
What has driven the increase is\u00a0New York\u2019s\u00a0ten-year-old\u00a0at-home care program for Medicaid recipients, a plan that pays relatives to take care of their loved ones.\u00a0Known as the consumer directed personal\u00a0assistance\u00a0program,\u00a0its budget\u00a0is\u00a0$11.2\u00a0billion. The initiative\u00a0has become so popular that state officials\u00a0are looking\u00a0for ways to\u00a0trim costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bill Hammond, senior fellow at health policy for the Empire Center for Public Policy,\u00a0notes that\u00a0Medicaid\u00a0takes\u00a0up more than thirty-five percent\u00a0of the state budget, a figure he expects will continue to\u00a0grow under\u00a0Cuomo\u2019s success,\u00a0Gov.\u00a0Kathy\u00a0Hochul, also a Democrat,\u00a0and the Democratic-controlled legislature.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s spending a lot more on Medicaid in particular,\u201d Hammond said in an interview. \u201cThey say we have an aging population, but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not increasing 12 percent a year. She has a different attitude\u00a0about\u00a0spending\u00a0than\u00a0Cuomo\u00a0did. Spending has skyrocketed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Hochul spokesperson was not\u00a0immediately\u00a0available for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Created in 1965\u00a0as a centerpiece of President Lyndon Johnson\u2019s War on Poverty, Medicaid provides insurance to\u00a071\u00a0million\u00a0poor and frail\u00a0Americans.\u00a0Unlike Medicare, the health insurance program for elderly Americans, state and local governments pick up part of the tab for Medicaid, at least 40 percent in the case of states.\u00a0The federal government spent\u00a0$919\u00a0billion\u00a0on the program\u00a0in 2023-\u201924, the latest year for which figures are available.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Medicaid is not the only budget item that caused New York State\u2019s state operating funds budget\u00a0to swell to\u00a0$143.8 billion\u00a0this year from\u00a0$123 billion\u00a0in 2022, according to state\u00a0figures.\u00a0<\/p>\n