Legislature Advances Their Counterproposals to Governor’s Budget; 3-Way Negotiations to Begin

Legislature Advances Their Counterproposals to Governor’s Budget; 3-Way Negotiations to Begin

The Senate and Assembly each advanced their respective “one-House” Budgets this week to set the stage for “3 way-negotiations” with Governor Hochul towards the adoption of a State Budget by April 1. Importantly, both one-House Budgets included several items contained in the Executive Budget, which are supported by MSSNY. These include:

• Continuing MSSNY’s Committee for Physicians’ Health (the Senate extended the program 10 years, as proposed by the Governor, the Assembly extended the program 5 years).
• Continuing the Excess Medical Malpractice Insurance Program.
• Continuing the expanded level of funding ($15.9M) for the Doctors Across New York medical student loan repayment program.
• Creating a Health Insurance Guarantee Fund to provide patients and physicians protection in the event of a health insurer insolvency.
• Increasing cigarette taxes by $1/pack. The Senate included language to strengthen enforcement on the flavored e-cigarette ban enacted in NYS in 2020 and both Houses increased funding for the tobacco control program. However, both Houses recommended the rejection of the proposed prohibition on the sale of menthol-flavored cigarettes.

The one-House Budgets also recommended the rejection of several measures that had been opposed by MSSNY and many other groups, including:

• The elimination of “prescriber prevails” protections for Medicaid prescriptions.
• The requirement that “material transactions” by, and of, a private physician practice be approved by the New York State Department of Health. Until the Budget is finalized, please continue to send letters in opposition to this heavy-handed proposal here: Protect Private Practice In New York! (p2a.co)
• The enormous number of scope of practice expansions, including independent practice for physician assistants, prescribing and ordering lab tests by pharmacists, and expanding the existing collaborative drug therapy program to nurse practitioners. Until the Budget is finalized, please continue to send letters in opposition to these proposals here: Oppose Part W of Governor’s Health Budget Bill – Preserve Physician-Led Team Care (p2a.co)

In addition, the Senate “one-House” Budget added language supported by MSSNY to:

• Provide funding the Veterans Mental Health Training Initiative that MSSNY has participated in together with the NYS Psychiatric Association and National Association of Social Workers
• Prohibit health insurers from denying medical necessity for patient care unless it is reviewed by a physician in the same or specialty as the physician providing the care.

Please stay tuned for further updates on negotiations on the State Budget progress.