The average cost of New Yorkers' health benefits increased by less than the national average in 2019 but remained among the highest in the U.S., according to recently published federal data. Read More
Blog
The state's Medicaid spending was significantly lower than projected in the first quarter, but that's not necessarily a positive sign for state finances. Read More
Some of New York City's leading progressive Democrats are mounting a campaign to pressure Governor Cuomo into backing a big new "wealth tax" on New York billionaires. Read More
Because New York was hit with the coronavirus early, before testing was widely available, its official count of infections – at just over 400,000 – vastly understates the scale of its outbreak. Read More
A new report from the state Health Department tries to deflect blame for thousands of coronavirus deaths in the state's nursing homes—but undermines its own case by withholding data and engaging in tendentious analysis. Read More
New York's economy ended the first quarter of this year in virtual free fall, the latest federal data show. Read More
A temporary freeze on scheduled pay hikes for state government employees (apparently) will continue through September while Governor Cuomo continues to count on aid from Washington to cope with the pandemic-induced economic and fiscal crisis. But the governor's administrative deferral of pay hikes still falls well short of what the governor can and should propose to save money and minimize layoffs. Read More
The vacancy rate in New York's nursing homes has more than doubled since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, suggesting that the death toll among residents may be thousands higher than officially reported. Read More
A federal appellate court has upheld a state-imposed freeze on pay increases for Nassau County employees—reaffirming the Legislature’s power to grant similar much-needed budgetary relief to every level of government in New York to help deal with the severe post-pandemic fiscal crisis. Read More
Personal income growth in New York nearly flatlined in the first quarter of this year, reflecting the start of the economic shutdown triggered by the coronavirus crisis, according to data released today by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Read More
Unlike its rapidly improving COVID-19 case numbers, New York's economic recovery began at a painfully slow rate during the normally buoyant month of May. Read More
The health insurance industry's rate applications for 2021, posted this month by state officials, reveal deep uncertainty about the long-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic on medical costs. Read More