Says Spending Grew by 61% over Five Years
By Hank Russell
The Empire Center recently published a scathing critique of Governor Kathy Hochul’s astronomical spending on Medicaid, contending that she spent 61% more money on Medicaid over the past five years, at the expense of school aid and other state funding.
According to the think tank, Medicaid spending by the state went from $27.693 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 to $44.699 billion in FY 2026 — an increase of approximately $17 billion over that five-year period, or 61%. In FY 2022, school spending by the state was at $29.266 billion; funding grew in FY 2026 by only more than $8 billion to $37.574 billion, up 28%.
During this time period, all other state funds did not grow that much. Funding was at $60.445 billion in FY 2022 — more than Medicaid and school aid spending combined. However, spending for FY 2026 went up only 6% to $63,83 billion. That comes up to a small increase of $3.385 billion.
Despite the extra spending, Hochul never mentioned it in her list of accomplishments she posted to mark her fourth anniversary in office. The only time she used the word “Medicaid” was when she announced that she signed legislation authorizing the program to cover remote monitoring of pregnant women, according to Empire Center’s senior fellow for health policy, Bill Hammond.
“The program plays an uncredited role in two other listed items: a $1 billion ‘investment in mental health care’ over several years, a portion of which is to come from Medicaid; and efforts to bolster access to abortion, which include higher Medicaid reimbursements for providers,” Hammond said. “Otherwise, the safety-net health plan that covers one-third of the population goes unmentioned in a list of 47 bullet points.”
While Hochul addressed some of the issues facing the state’s health system, such as the state hospitals’ low quality ratings and rising home health care costs, Hammond said, her answer was to “[add] billions to the Medicaid budget … and pushing to grow the health-care workforce.”
Both of these priorities happen to align with those of the health-care industry and its major labor union, 1199 SEIU, which are consistently among Albany’s biggest-spending special interests – and campaign donors,” Hammond added.
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to the governor’s office for a response.
“Unlike Congressional Republicans who approved devastating cuts to healthcare for millions, Governor Hochul understands the importance of investing in the health and wellbeing of all New Yorkers,” a spokesperson for the governor said in a statement “That’s why Governor Hochul has repeatedly made strong investments to expand access to insurance, ensure the long term stability of hospitals and other care providers and support programs that deliver lifesaving services across the state.”
Hammond pointed out that, in 2023, she “established a Commission on the Future of Health Care and filled it with well-credentialed appointees, many of which come from outside the Albany bubble,” he said. “In creating that commission, Hochul tacitly acknowledged that she needed a stronger agenda on health care – or at least one that goes beyond spending more on Medicaid. Improving hospital quality would be a good place for her to start.”