Albany, NY — Governor Hochul’s budget would allow Medicaid spending to continue spiraling at double-digit rates despite a growing economy and the threat of deep cuts in federal aid, warns Bill Hammond, Empire Center senior fellow for health policy, in testimony delivered today before the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committees.

“In the best of circumstances, aimlessly adding 17 percent to New York’s already bloated Medicaid budget would be wasteful and risky,” Hammond said. “Doing so in the face of the shifting tides in Washington is reckless.”

If Hochul’s plan is approved as written, state Medicaid outlays for fiscal 2026 will rise to $44 billion, which is 60 percent more than the spending level she inherited just three years ago, Hammond said.

Hammond called for the Legislature to rethink its overhaul of the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, which is enormously disruptive yet fails to directly address rapid enrollment growth.

He also called for lawmakers to investigate signs of over-enrollment in Medicaid the Medicaid-like Essential Plan. As documented in a recent Empire Center report, their combined rolls are approximately 3 million larger than would be expected based on Census Bureau income data.

Hammond’s full written testimony is available here.

The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.