3 months ago
Health care advocates say cuts proposed by Governor Paterson to trim the state's deficit could cause local hospitals to close, and patients to lose services.
Seated side-by-side in a show of unity, the CEOs of four, major local health systems warned a panel of New York State Senators that, if they go along with the governor's cuts, they may be forced to begin closing nursing homes this year.
"Simply put, it's very dangerous," Catholic Health CEO Joseph McDonald. "It's a very dangerous policy."
Yet their plea comes at a time when most state lawmakers say they prefer cuts over new taxes to address the state's $4 billion deficit.
2 On Your Side asked Roswell Park Cancer Research Institute CEO Donald Trump about the budget problems.
REPORTER: The hearing room is filled with all sorts of interest groups who do not want any of their funding cut. If the legislature listens to all of the interest groups, including yours, they're going to have raise taxes on the public. Are you comfortable with that idea?
TRUMP: As my colleague to my right said, we are not in a position to look all of the solutions that might be brought to bear. Our point is -- health care has felt the brunt of budget cuts every year for the last three years and enough is enough.
We also questioned a handful of State Senators, including Republican Michael Ranzenhofer who had pledged to not vote for any tax increases.
REPORTER: If a budget without taxes or fees ends up meaning some of these health care facilities and other organizations have to close, are you comfortable making that decision?
RANZENHOFER: Well, no one is ever comfortable making that decision, but again, but this is a very difficult balancing test between what people can afford and what type of services people want. I know one thing that people don't want -- they don't more fee increases, they don't want more taxes.
We also spokes to Democratic Senators Antoine Thompson and William Stachowski.
THOMPSON: We're going to have to make some difficult decisions, but we're not going to shut down every hospital and health care facility in the state of New York.
REPORTER: Well, how do you balance a budget, then, unless you have either some large tax or fee increases or some serious cuts?
THOMPSON: Well, we still have some stimulus money. That's part of the debate right now -- of how much we still have that's out there, so we're going to look at that. There is some other revenue from everything to gaming in Queens, to different initiatives that people are looking at right now. And, we also still have a two billion dollar-plus rainy day fund, which, I think it's beyond raining, so we need to take a look at that.
STACHOWSKI: We're not going to do taxes. I can tell you that we're not.
REPORTER: Where would the money come from if you don't want to make the difficult cuts to health systems?
STACHOWSKI: We're going to look at other parts of the budget that the governor did not necessarily include, and they're doing that right now. I can't tell you where the areas are right now because I am not privy to all of the research that senate staff areas are doing.
