Per-recipient spending by New York's Medicaid program has long far exceeded the national norm, a telling symptom of inefficiency in the state's health plan for the poor. But the gap appears to have narrowed significantly during Governor Andrew Cuomo's term, with New York's spending rate falling at about twice the national average between 2010 and 2014. Read More
The latest federal estimates of the 2014-15 change in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by metropolitan area provide a fresh perspective on upstate New York's persistent economic weakness. With a real (inflation-adjusted) GDP gain of 2 percent—good enough to rank 154 out of the nation's 382 largest metros—Albany-Schenectady-Troy was upstate New York's fastest-growing area last year, according to preliminary estimates from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The average GDP growth for all U.S. metro areas was 2.5 percent. Read More
New York's preliminary employment numbers August were a near-repeat of July: private-sector job creation in the Empire State trailed the national average, with nearly all the net gains concentrated in New York City and its surrounding suburbs. Read More
New York’s hospitals are outpacing the nation in reducing avoidable readmissions, according to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Read More
Newly released Census Bureau data on the nation’s declining uninsured rate held good news and bad news for New York. Read More
Here’s another reason to celebrate New York’s Earned Income Tax Credit: It measurably improves the health and longevity of those who receive it. Read More
Republicans never held more than 58 of the 150 seats in New York State Assembly during Clarence D. “Rapp” Rappleyea’s 12 years as their minority leader. Yet Rappleyea, who died Sunday at age 82, was among the most consequential New York State legislative leaders of the 20th century. Read More
Governor Cuomo frequently asserts that "the arrows are pointed in the right direction" for the upstate New York economy, thanks to state policy changes under his leadership. But approaching the sixth Labor Day of Cuomo's tenure, the latest job statistics continued to tell a different story. Read More