Media Alert
Contact: William Van Slyke
Vice President, Communications
(518) 431-7770
wvanslyk@hanys.org
Statement by HANYS' President Daniel Sisto on Passage of $775 Million in Health Care Cuts in State Budget Extender
Albany, NY - "The awful and simple truth about these cuts is that they will harm patients and the health care workers who care for them, as well as the institutions we have looked to for the preservation of our health and economy.
"It is difficult to overstate the frustration and outrage of health providers who struggle every day to meet the pressing health care needs of their patients, only to see their work diminished by the avoidable limitations imposed by politics.
"With this latest budget action (the seventh in just two years), more than $5 billion in funding for health care services has been cut by state leaders. We have been unfairly misused and abused as the primary means to resolve a systemic state fiscal crisis. In the end, however, these actions merely trade once crisis for another, as lost access to health care and mass job losses are certain to follow.
"The health care cuts contained in the Governor's initial Executive Proposal would equate to 17,000 jobs and $2 billion in lost economic activity*. The impact of this extender will approach those sums.
"We have set the stage for more St. Vincent's, and no community can assume their local hospital will survive in the future. For the millions of patients and residents our members serve, the lasting legacy of these cumulative actions will be one of neglect and abandonment—a damaging and irresponsible legacy that every New Yorker will recognize for years to come.
"There cannot be any subsequent health care cuts or taxes. It is imperative that the legislature look to other options to balance any future shortfalls. Health care has contributed far more than its fair share."
* According to formula developed by the federal Bureau of Economic Activity.
The Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) is the only statewide hospital and continuing care association in New York State, representing more than 550 non-profit and public hospitals, nursing homes, home care agencies, and other health care organizations.
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