Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo staged a series of upstate ribbon-cutting events at which he again touted the region's economic progress. Today came something of a reality check: the monthly state Labor Department jobs report, which showed weak year-to-year private employment growth in upstate's largest metro areas. Read More
Washington lawmakers are contemplating fallback healthcare legislation that risks repeating one of Albany’s most notorious policy blunders – and triggering a “death spiral” in non-group insurance markets nationwide. Read More
Seemingly stalled on health care and Medicaid, congressional Republicans and the Trump administration will soon turn their attention to taxes—another area in which federal reform offers mixed prospects for New York State. Read More
Believe it or not, New Yorkers, your health benefits got a little bit cheaper last year. Unfortunately, they’re still among the costliest in the country. Read More
Opioid prescribing rates vary widely across New York, with residents in some counties receiving three or four times as much of the potentially addictive pain relievers as in other counties. Read More
Insurance tax credits in the U.S. Senate GOP’s health plan would have a mixed effect on New Yorkers, reducing net premiums for some young, low-income consumers shopping in the non-group market, but raising costs for older ones. Read More
Former Assembly member Richard Brodsky and the Empire Center’s E.J. McMahon have sent a joint letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo, legislative leaders and the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), urging the state to redirect up to $4 billion in unspent financial penalty settlement funds to help finance desperately needed subway repairs as well as highway and bridge work. Read More
New York would pay a price for running a high-cost Medicaid program if the Senate GOP health plan becomes law. Read More