The Medicaid thorn in Hochul's side, moving NYC elections to even years

And Thursday Reads will get you caught up on the week.

Good afternoon — it’s Thursday and National Relaxation Day.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2024

TODAY’S CAPCON:

• Hochul and the Legislature agreed to a big change for a very popular Medicaid program this year but that’s getting fresh pushback as a deadline looms.

• Hochul at the DNC. New York City holds elections on odd years. But what if it moved those to even years?

• Thursday Reads.

🌧️ Tonight’s Weather: Albany: Chance of rain, low 60s. New York City: Decreasing clouds, low 70s. (National Weather Service)

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I can’t believe I haven’t used this photo yet. (Dan Clark/Times Union)

❤️‍🩹 The Medicaid program that’s put a thorn in Hochul’s side

🏛️ Hochul and Democrats in the Legislature agreed to move the program to a new model. The people who use it say that’s a bad idea.

A few weeks ago, Gov. Kathy HOCHUL became the target of disability rights advocates when she called an increasingly popular Medicaid program “a racket.”

She was talking about CDPAP — the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, which the state has said has an annual price tag of more than $9 billion.

• That’s a program that connects people who need extra care with aides who can help them.

• The intent of the program is to keep people who need care out of nursing homes by giving them an option at home.

But it wasn’t always that expensive.

Former Gov. Andrew M. CUOMO and the state Legislature approved a change in 2015 that allows any adult relative of a person in need to get paid to help as their aide.

• Adults who are legally responsible for that person, like a parent, were the only exception.

Spending on the CDPAP program ballooned to $2.4 billion by 2018, and the state had already recognized that as a disproportionate increase compared to other Medicaid spending.

And Hochul argued this year that if growth in the program continues at the current rate, it’s going to be an unsustainable cost for the state.

She told reporters this week that those higher costs have been driven by abuse of the program.

“This has become a real driver of jobs and a growth industry in a way that is wildly expensive for the taxpayers of New York,” Hochul said. “Since 2015, there have been enormous abuses in this program.”

Lawmakers compromised with Hochul in this year’s state budget on a big change to cut costs, but it’s one that’s now getting a lot of pushback as a key deadline approaches.