Relates to calculating social services district medical assistance expenditure amounts

22 Co-sponsors

• Roy J. McDonald
• Michael H. Ranzenhofer
• James S. Alesi
• Tony Avella
• Greg Ball
• John J. Bonacic
• David Carlucci
• Hugh T. Farley
• Martin J. Golden
• Joseph A. Griffo
• Mark Grisanti
• William J. Larkin Jr.
• Tom Libous
• George D. Maziarz
• Velmanette Montgomery
• Michael F. Nozzolio
• Thomas F. O'Mara
• Suzi Oppenheimer
• Patty Ritchie
• James L. Seward
• David J. Valesky
• Catharine Young

BILL NUMBER:S5889D REVISED 06/12/12

Title of bill

An act to amend chapter 58 of the laws of 2005, relating to authorizing reimbursements for expenditures made by or on behalf of social services districts for medical assistance for needy persons and the administration thereof, and to amend the general municipal law, in relation to calculating social services district medical assistance expenditure amounts

Purpose

This bill provides for a takeover of the local share of Medicaid over a twenty year period beginning in 2016. This bill also provides that all savings from this takeover are passed along to property tax payers by reducing the allowable levy under the property tax cap.

Summary of provisions

Section 1: Subdivision c-1 of section 1 of chapter 58 of the laws of 2005 is amended to provide a for a twenty year takeover of the local share of Medicaid costs.

Section 2: Subsection 3 of section 3-c of the General Municipal Law is amended to provide for a reduction in the allowable tax levy limit for counties equal to the amount of the reduction in each counties local share of Medicaid costs.

Justification

Since the enactment of the Medicaid program in 19651 local social service districts (counties and the City of New York) have been required to share in both the cost and administrative operation of the program. Over the years, the cost of the program has grown exponentially while responsibility for program design and administration has been gradually shifted to the state.

Despite this shift of responsibility, county and New York City governments continue to be required to contribute a significant share of the total program cost. Currently, counties and New York City pay approximately $7.3 billion per year.

The FY 2012-2013 budget began to address this unfunded mandate by phasing Out the 3% increase in county Medicaid costs each year. This will allow counties to work within the recently enacted cap on property taxes without slashing essential local services such as senior services, veteran's services, law enforcement, parks, and road maintenance.

However, even after this freeze on local Medicaid costs being fully implemented in 2015, over $7.5 billion of Medicaid costs will still fall on local governments and thus property taxpayers. This bill

would address these remaining costs by having the state government assume responsibility of 5% of the costs each year for twenty years.

Furthermore, this bill ensures that these local savings are passed along to property tax payers by reducing the allowable property tax levy for counties by the amount they will save from reduced Medicaid costs. In many counties this will mean year-to-year reductions in the property tax levy from 2016 until 2035, reversing a long trend of year to year increases that were caused, in part, by Medicaid cost sharing.

Legislative history

New Bill.

Effective date

Immediate.