Claudia Tenney
Rep. Claudia Tenney

Medicaid Mandate Relief (Collins-Faso) amendment passes the U.S. House of Representatives

Pictured from left are Rep. Claudia Tenney, James Christian- Town of Paris Supervisor, Gilda Ward- Guilford Town Councilwoman, Brian Scala- Town of Marcy Supervisor, Vincent Bono- Vice Chairman Herkimer County Legislature, Don Ryan- Mayor of New Hartford, Richard Flisnik- Oneida County Legislator District 8, Lorriane Padavan- Town of Vienna Deputy Supervisor, Mark Scimone- Madison County Administrator, Peter Manno- Herkimer County Legislator, Jeffery Daniels- Oneida County Legislator District 18

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) joined elected officials in the 22nd District to announce the passage of the Collins-Faso Amendment, which would relieve New York State of $7.5 billion in unfunded Albany mandates. For decades, Albany has forced Upstate counties to bear a disproportionally large share of the state’s Medicaid budget. This amendment would simply prohibit states from passing Medicaid costs on to counties.

Out of all 50 states, New York burdens its counties with the highest percent of Medicaid responsibility. New York counties pay nearly seven times more than counties in California pay, even though California outstrips New York’s Medicaid program in both enrollment and expenditures.

In 2015, the 22nd District paid $167.7 million to support Albany’s expansive Medicaid program. Ultimately, these unfunded mandates cause our property taxes to soar while diverting important local money that could be used to fund our schools, improve our roads, and support our first responders.

“No other state in the country abuses its local governments and taxpayers quite like Albany to fund an expansive Medicaid program. Our already strapped county governments are forced to divert $7.5 billion a year to support New York State’s Medicaid liability. Each day, $140 million is ripped away from our counties to support Albany’s out-of-control spending. If every other state in the nation can provide high-quality Medicaid services without passing the buck onto local governments, then so too can New York. The State Legislature and Governor will simply have to work over a period of several years to review the state budget to responsibly reduce the unfair and unreasonable Medicaid liability that has been forced onto our counties,” said Congresswoman Claudia Tenney. “As a small business owner, I ran for Congress to provide relief for the struggling families, small businesses and local governments across the 22nd District. This amendment represents the first real tax relief in a generation for Upstate property taxpayers, who pay among the highest taxes in the entire nation. It will have a tangible local impact and will reduce the tax burden while freeing up more money for our local communities to invest.”

“I have long been a strong advocate of mandate relief,” said Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. “I have worked across the aisle as well with the New York State Association of Counties, where I currently serve as the Immediate Past President, to bring mandate relief in various ways, including pension reform, a Medicaid cap, indigent defense and more. This amendment is a positive step that would bring $55 million-plus worth of mandate relief annually and I encourage its inclusion in the Senate’s final version.”

“The amendment will certainly help lessen the fiscal pressure being placed on our counties. There is a constant call by the counties to eliminate or reduce mandated State cost. We cannot continue to provide necessary services and build our local economies with the threat of ever increasing monetary pressure placed on us. We welcome any help to relieve the pressure on our local property owners and taxpayers,” said Bernard Peplinski, Chairman, Herkimer County Legislature.

“In Oswego County, more than 44 percent of our tax levy goes towards the state’s Medicaid mandate,” said Oswego County Legislature Chairman Kevin Gardner. “This amendment will provide needed relief to residents of Oswego County, saving us nearly $24 million a year. Removing this burden from our county will allow us to invest in schools, infrastructure and our first responders while lowering taxes and bringing residents back to our community,”

By martha

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