WRGB Studios-Schenectady, NY — An agreement appears imminent for New York’s FY2027 State Budget, and now coalitions, groups and organizations are making their final pushes to ensure they receive funding.
Generally, Governor Hochul has announced “conceptual agreements”, which mainly focus on policy issues, and means fiscal issues aren’t fully finalized until a few days later, along with the printing of budget bills.
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So, groups like the Community Health Care Association of NYS (CHCANYS) are pushing for their ask of $300 million, saying community health centers are already stressed financially.
“Community health centers are already operating on very, very deficient Medicaid reimbursement rates,” Marie Mongeon, Chief External Affairs Officer at Community Health Care Association of NYS, says. “We quantified that to be a $750 million deficit last year, this has been growing since 1999. Health centers’ reimbursement is unlike anyone else in the healthcare sector, and their current reimbursement rates are based on the year 2000. Costs have changed since 2000. We are trying to make ends meet on an outdated system so that $300 million will only prevent further harm. It doesn’t catch us up to the $750 million deficit that the 900 community health center sites across the state are already facing in terms that we talked about sort of the individuals that might need this care, and what the impact of these cuts would have when they come down the line here.”
They see the $300 million request as a way to help continue coverage for the estimated 450,000 New Yorkers who are facing changes or a cut to their coverage in the face of federal cuts to the State’s Essential Plan.
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Legislation has also been proposed to provide coverage to those that would lose coverage on July 1st.
Full conversation with Marie Mongeon: