{"id":2518728,"date":"2025-12-08T11:53:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T16:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nys-biggest-budget-item-medicaid-spending-outpaces-all-others\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T11:56:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T16:56:16","slug":"nys-biggest-budget-item-medicaid-spending-outpaces-all-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nys-biggest-budget-item-medicaid-spending-outpaces-all-others\/","title":{"rendered":"NY&#8217;s biggest budget item, Medicaid spending outpaces all others"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnys-biggest-budget-item-medicaid-spending-outpaces-all-others%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2518728&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses New York State&#8217;s rapidly growing Medicaid spending, which has become its largest budget item and is increasing faster than any other program. currently, New York spends about $4,924 per resident on Medicaid, far exceeding other states like Kentucky. Despite a recent drop in Medicaid enrollment-from 7.7 million to 6.8 million people-the state&#8217;s Medicaid operating budget has surged from $27.7 billion to $44.7 billion between 2022 and 2024.A major driver of this growth is the consumer-directed personal assistance program, which pays family members to care for medicaid recipients at home. This program&#8217;s popularity has led officials to seek ways to control its costs.<\/p>\n<p>Medicaid accounts for over 35% of New York&#8217;s state budget, and this spending is expected to continue rising under Governor Kathy Hochul. The article also notes that the state&#8217;s overall operating budget has increased substantially,including notable boosts in K-12 education funding. While Medicaid enjoys broad public support across political lines, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >studies suggest mixed health outcomes<\/a> for enrollees.The state&#8217;s budget has been somewhat cushioned by strong Wall Street market performance, but fiscal pressures remain. With upcoming elections, further increases in Medicaid spending are anticipated.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Fiscal Fallout: NY&rsquo;s biggest budget item, Medicaid spending outpaces all others<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2424858\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square)&nbsp;Four years ago, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york\/\">New&nbsp;York<\/a> state&nbsp;spent more money per resident on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/medicaid\/\">Medicaid<\/a>,&nbsp;the joint-federal-state program for the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/income-inequality\/\">poor<\/a> and disabled,&nbsp;than any other.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Today, the&nbsp;state spends an&nbsp;additional&nbsp;$700 per resident&nbsp;on Medicaid, a rate of growth that far exceeds that of any other program in&nbsp;its&nbsp;budget, an investigation by The Center Square found.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3910406\/newlab-new-orleans-jera-to-grow-carbon-capture-technologies\/\">Newlab New Orleans, JERA to grow carbon capture technologies<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/3910259\/paramount-hostile-bid-warner-bros-discovery\/\">Paramount makes hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3910200\/colin-allred-quits-senate-primary-run-house\/\">Colin Allred quits Senate primary to run for House<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The&nbsp;Empire State&nbsp;spends $4,924 per capita&nbsp;on Medicaid, according to state figures.&nbsp;By contrast, the next closest state, Kentucky, spent&nbsp;$3,700&nbsp;in 2022.&nbsp;As recently as&nbsp;2021, Gov. Andrew Cuomo&rsquo;s last year in office,&nbsp;New York&rsquo;s&nbsp;figure was $4,240.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The spike has occurred despite&nbsp;a decline in Medicaid enrollment.&nbsp;In October 2023,&nbsp;a peak of&nbsp;7.7&nbsp;million&nbsp;of&nbsp;New York&rsquo;s&nbsp;19.6&nbsp;million&nbsp;residents&nbsp;were enrolled in the program. Now&nbsp;6.8&nbsp;million are.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Typically,&nbsp;shrinking&nbsp;enrollment&nbsp;would result in&nbsp;shrinking state&nbsp;spending.&nbsp;But&nbsp;that&nbsp;hasn&rsquo;t&nbsp;happened. The state&rsquo;s operating funds for Medicaid&nbsp;have&nbsp;jumped to&nbsp;$44.7 billion&nbsp;from&nbsp;$27.7 billion&mdash;a 61.3 percent increase &mdash; between 2022 and April of this year when the 2026 budget started.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>What has driven the increase is&nbsp;New York&rsquo;s&nbsp;ten-year-old&nbsp;at-home care program for Medicaid recipients, a plan that pays relatives to take care of their loved ones.&nbsp;Known as the consumer directed personal&nbsp;assistance&nbsp;program,&nbsp;its budget&nbsp;is&nbsp;$11.2&nbsp;billion. The initiative&nbsp;has become so popular that state officials&nbsp;are looking&nbsp;for ways to&nbsp;trim costs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Bill Hammond, senior fellow at health policy for the Empire Center for Public Policy,&nbsp;notes that&nbsp;Medicaid&nbsp;takes&nbsp;up more than thirty-five percent&nbsp;of the state budget, a figure he expects will continue to&nbsp;grow under&nbsp;Cuomo&rsquo;s success,&nbsp;Gov.&nbsp;Kathy&nbsp;Hochul, also a Democrat,&nbsp;and the Democratic-controlled legislature.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;She&rsquo;s spending a lot more on Medicaid in particular,&rdquo; Hammond said in an interview. &ldquo;They say we have an aging population, but&nbsp;it&rsquo;s&nbsp;not increasing 12 percent a year. She has a different attitude&nbsp;about&nbsp;spending&nbsp;than&nbsp;Cuomo&nbsp;did. Spending has skyrocketed.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A Hochul spokesperson was not&nbsp;immediately&nbsp;available for comment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Created in 1965&nbsp;as a centerpiece of President Lyndon Johnson&rsquo;s War on Poverty, Medicaid provides insurance to&nbsp;71&nbsp;million&nbsp;poor and frail&nbsp;Americans.&nbsp;Unlike Medicare, the health insurance program for elderly Americans, state and local governments pick up part of the tab for Medicaid, at least 40 percent in the case of states.&nbsp;The federal government spent&nbsp;$919&nbsp;billion&nbsp;on the program&nbsp;in 2023-&rsquo;24, the latest year for which figures are available.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Medicaid is not the only budget item that caused New York State&rsquo;s state operating funds budget&nbsp;to swell to&nbsp;$143.8 billion&nbsp;this year from&nbsp;$123 billion&nbsp;in 2022, according to state&nbsp;figures.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In addition to increased spending on Medicaid, the Empire State has boosted annual funding for K-12 public schools, to&nbsp;$37.6 billion&nbsp;this year from&nbsp;$29.2 billion&nbsp;in 2022.&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/new_york\/article_1de883b8-9946-400b-b87e-c69357cd116e.html\">As The Center Square has reported<\/a>, the state spent&nbsp;more per pupil,&nbsp;$35,095&nbsp;in the 2023-&rsquo;24 school year,&nbsp;than any other.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Overall, New York&rsquo;s K-12&nbsp;school&nbsp;budget&nbsp;has jumped&nbsp;22.3 percent&nbsp;since 2022. By contrast, the state spent&nbsp;6 percent&nbsp;more&nbsp;on&nbsp;all other budget items, including police, highways and roads, housing and prisons.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Like their counterparts in Washington, New York lawmakers have struggled to find ways to reduce Medicaid&rsquo;s costs.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>One problem is the program&rsquo;s popularity. According to&nbsp;a&nbsp;June&nbsp;poll from the&nbsp;Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit, 93&nbsp;percent of Democrats, 81 percent of independents, and 72 percent of Republicans&nbsp;expressed approval&nbsp;of the safety net plan.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Despite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/poll-plurality-of-texas-latinos-oppose-bidens-border-policies\/\" title=\"Poll: Plurality of Texas Latinos Oppose Biden&#039;s Border Policies\">strong public support<\/a>, studies show that Medicare&rsquo;s effect on enrollees has been a mixed bag.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>According to a 2013&nbsp;article in The New England Journal of Medicine, a study&nbsp;by ten health scholars&nbsp;compared 6,800 Oregon residents who enrolled in Medicaid&nbsp;with 5,800 who did not. It found that Medicaid significantly increased the percentage of people who&nbsp;were diagnosed and treated for diabetes, decreased the share of those who tested positive for depression and reduced severe financial strain.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>However, the study also found that Medicaid recipients were not more likely to be diagnosed&nbsp;for&nbsp;hypertension, high cholesterol levels&nbsp;or use the medications for those conditions. In addition, the authors&nbsp;did not find&nbsp;significant&nbsp;differences&nbsp;in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/adolescent-chest-reconstruction-surgeries-increase-nearly-400-in-us-report\/\" title=\"Adolescent Chest Reconstruction Surgeries Increase Nearly 400% in US: Report\">physical health outcomes<\/a> in the first two years of enrolling in Medicaid.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Fiscal observers note&nbsp;that&nbsp;New York&rsquo;s budget would be worse off if Wall Street&rsquo;s recent boom had not helped bail out the state indirectly. The S&amp;P 500, a basic barometer of the stock market, has increased 47.6 percent since 2022.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3909036\/elise-stefanik-life-beyond-house-unafraid-fighting\/\">ELISE STEFANIK EYES LIFE BEYOND HOUSE, IS UNAFRAID TO GO OUT FIGHTING<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hammond of The Empire Center added that&nbsp;Gov. Hochul is up for re-election next year, an event&nbsp;likely to precipitate more state spending on Medicaid.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;New York had all this federal&nbsp;money,&rdquo; he said, referring to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-judge-grants-gop-lawmaker-standing-to-sue-biden-administration-over-unrwa-funding-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Texas judge grants GOP lawmaker standing to sue Biden administration over UNRWA funding - Washington Examiner\">federal government&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s spending infusion as the result of the coronavirus pandemic from 2020 to 2023, &ldquo;and it spent and continued to spend on Medicaid and education and while it subsided, with an election coming up,&nbsp;it&rsquo;s&nbsp;about to be jacked up again.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NY Medicaid spending surges, outpacing all other programs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2869,"featured_media":2518729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/jeffries-medicaid-presser-1-scaled.webp?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4463,68425,42395,11975,32120],"class_list":["post-2518728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-budget","tag-government-expenditure","tag-healthcare-spending","tag-medicaid","tag-new-york"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/jeffries-medicaid-presser-1-scaled.webp?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2518728"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2518732,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518728\/revisions\/2518732"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2518729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2518728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2518728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2518728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}