The award for the most deceptive name in New York state government goes to an obscure but expensive program called the “Indigent Care Pool.” Read More
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Progressive politicians jumping on Bernie Sanders’ Medicare-for-all bandwagon should be careful what they wish for – especially if they represent New York. Read More
The Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill heading to a possible vote next week would appear to be more costly for New York State in the long term than previous GOP repeal-and-replace plans. Read More
New York State’s “Indigent Care Pool” doles out more than $1 billion a year in grants to hospitals, ostensibly to reimburse them for providing free care to the poor and uninsured. But most of the time, how much money a hospital receives bears no relation to how much charity care it delivers. Read More
A billion-dollar state program to reimburse hospital charity care is having a reverse Robin Hood effect, shortchanging hospitals that serve poorer patients to the benefit of those that serve more affluent populations, according to a new analysis by Empire Center health policy director Bill Hammond. Read More
New York's loss of residents to other states is a long-established and troubling trend. But the impact of out-migration on the Empire State's economy, and on personal income in particular, is another, more complicated story. Unfortunately, the annual release of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data on interstate taxpayer migration continues to inspire some wrongheaded conclusions on this score. Read More
A Ramapo town police officer who collected nearly $442,000 was New York State’s highest paid local government employee outside New York City during the 12 months ending March 31, according to the 2017 edition of “What They Make,” the Empire Center annual analysis of local government pay. Read More
Local government is a labor-intensive business, and employee compensation is the single biggest element of most municipal budgets. The 2016-17 edition of What They Make, the Empire Center’s annual report on public payrolls, allows New York taxpayers to compare this key element of local government costs around the state. Read More