New York could reduce its Medicaid costs by more than $3 billion under proposals released by the Empire Center’s director of health policy, Bill Hammond.
The 11 proposals, summarized in the table below, were submitted to Governor Cuomo’s Medicaid Redesign Team at a public comment forum on Friday at the Albany Capital Center.
The Medicaid Redesign Team, appointed Feb. 4, is tasked with finding $2.5 billion in Medicaid savings to balance the state budget due April 1. Consistent with Cuomo’s guidelines, Hammond’s proposals would have no impact on current beneficiaries or local governments.
In addition to identifying savings, Hammond recommended preserving and bolstering the Medicaid “global cap,” instituted during Cuomo’s first term, which is meant to limit state spending on the program based on the medical inflation rate.
“This useful tool should be strengthened, not abandoned,” Hammond said of the cap. “It should be set at a level tight enough to promote efficiency – and leave more tax dollars available for other priorities.”
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