Capping a week in which Governor Cuomo touted his "successful economic agenda," newly released federal estimates show New York's economy barely grew at all during the third quarter of 2019, ranking near the bottom of a 50-state list. Read More
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In the coming skirmish over how to close a multi-billion-dollar deficit in the Medicaid program, New Yorkers can expect a lot of misleading claims and half-truths from the health-care industry. A case in point is a Jan. 6 letter signed by 23 provider groups – representing hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies, physicians and more – which calls for Governor Cuomo to reverse the 1 percent cut to most Medicaid fees that his administration announced on New Year's Eve. Read More
The cash flow of New York’s Medicaid program has become increasingly volatile in recent years, a byproduct of questionable fiscal maneuvers that spawned the current $4 billion deficit. Read More
The ball in Times Square isn't the only thing dropping on New Year's Eve: The state Health Department also announced a 1 percent reduction in most Medicaid payments. Read More
A bill allowing New York City agencies to construct projects using the “design-build” procurement method would come with a big string attached. Read More
In his continuing effort to fill a slow-news holiday period with advance proposals from his upcoming 2020 State of the State message, Governor Cuomo today dusted off one of Albany's creakiest bipartisan infrastructure fantasies: high-speed passenger rail service. Read More
Our MTA payroll summary was only the second most-viewed SeeThroughNY news release of 2019. To find out which of transparency postings got the most attention this year, scroll through the list of the 2019 Top 10 SeeThroughNY press releases. Read More
A proposed rule under consideration by the U.S. Department of Labor would have the unexpected benefit of letting more New York public employees see how their union dues are spent—and negating a major union’s recent move to escape federal oversight. Read More
Governor Cuomo says that controlling the cost of prescription drugs will be part of his agenda in 2020. Four bills currently awaiting his signature or veto give him a chance to get started on that promise in 2019. Read More
A year after completing its replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge, and seven years after starting construction on the project, the state Thruway Authority has finally gotten around to proposing a schedule for raising the eastbound-only bridge toll. Read More
Medicaid and other healthcare issues dominated the most-read posts on the Empire Center's NYTorch blog in 2019—a year that's ended under the shadow of a major state Medicaid budget overrun first disclosed on this site. Read More
Governor Andrew Cuomo has vetoed two measures that were legislative priorities for public-sector unions. Read More