NEW YORK HEALTH PLAN ASSOCIATION ON FINAL 2023 BUDGET AGREEMENT
“We commend the Governor and legislative leaders for protecting New York’s most vulnerable residents by rejecting the proposal that would have limited the options available to these individuals by reducing the number of plans available in the Medicaid program.
“While the final FY23 state budget will expand coverage to some low-income, uninsured immigrants, more should be done and we remain committed to working with policymakers and key stakeholders to ensuring that every New Yorker has access to comprehensive, quality health care and realizing the goal of universal coverage.
“We applaud the commitment to funding the Medicaid Managed Care and Managed Long Term Care Quality Incentive programs, which are critical to supporting health plans’ quality improvement efforts and initiatives to reduce health disparities. Additionally, we support the decision to reject the proposal to require health plans to reimburse retail pharmacies at the fee-for-service dispensing fee rate, which would have increased costs in the Medicaid program without improving care for patients and done nothing to address rising prescription drug prices.
“Making high-quality, affordable health care available for all New Yorkers remains a key priority for HPA and our member health plans. We look forward to continuing discussions with Governor Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Heastie, and members of the Legislature through the end of the session on initiatives that will address the underlying factors driving health care costs to make health care more affordable for New York consumers, families, and employers.”
Eric Linzer is HPA President and CEO.
