NEW YORK STATE BUDGET UPDATE
State Medicaid Buy-In Program NOT Adopted in
Budget $1 Million Dollar Increase to State IL Appropriation
ALBANY, NY - (May 4, 2000) New York
State passed its 2000-2001 FY budget only one month late this year. Overall, it
yielded mixed results for the Independent Living community.
Advocates were informed that the highly
anticipated adoption of a Medicaid Buy-In program for people with disabilities
who want to work and maintain necessary health care coverage would NOT occur in
the current fiscal year budget. Negotiations on the "Work and Wellness Act
2000" fell apart when the Assembly, Senate, and Governor's Office couldn't
reach an agreement within the accelerated timeframe set for the passage of the
State Budget. This happened in contradiction to the joint Health Conference
Committee's approved resolution to "implement a Federal program allowing
working disabled to purchase Medicaid on a sliding fee scale, contingent upon
agreement on future out-year costs" and Governor Pataki's 1998 promise,
"Disabled individuals in New York State want and deserve to work, and we intend
to see that they succeed in doing so. We want to enhance access to employment
for persons with disabilities, but we need to build assurances into the system
so that persons with disabilities who collect SSI or SSDI can work without fear
of losing their health insurance and other critical benefits."
The cross-disability coalition of over
twenty-five statewide disability networks received substantial media coverage
during the past four months, which highlighted the vast need and common sense
appeal for such a program. Please refer to the related article on page 2. The
group will focus its efforts to pass the "Work and Wellness Act 2000" as a
freestanding bill before the end of the legislative session in June. The
Assembly is prepared to pass its version of the bill next week. Advocacy
efforts will look to encourage the Senate to move forward with the passage of
its bill in order to put the legislation before Governor Pataki.
The statewide network of CILs was
thrilled to hear that the State IL Appropriation received a $1 million dollar
increase. Each center will receive a $28,500 dollar boost to their existing
state contract. In addition, this is the second consecutive year that the CILs
have received an increase. During this time period, the appropriation has
increased by $2.5 million dollars. Subsequently, the total State IL
Appropriation has been elevated to $10.5 million dollars. This action raises
the base state funding level for each CIL to almost $247,000. NYSILC and the
statewide network of centers greatly appreciate the increase. It truly
recognizes the value and impact of Independent Living services. |
