Gov. Hochul has only herself to blame for NYs looming Medicaid crisis

As New York’s Medicaid costs spiral out of control, Gov.Kathy Hochul would like you to think she has nothing to do with it.In January, she implicitly laid the blame on Washington.“We will need to take action alongside the federal government to manage [Medicaid] growth,” she said — which, she admitted, “isn’t sustainable for New York taxpayers on its current trajectory.”But now that Congress is actually trying to slow Medicaid spending at the federal level, Hochul is blaming Republicans in New York’s House delegation for allowing that to happen.“They have the power to stop these reckless federal cuts,” she charged this week.

“They must find the political will to stand up to this administration and fight for the people they represent.”Hochul’s helplessness is just a pose, of course.Although the feds pick up half or more of the cost of the safety-net health plan, each state is in charge of managing it — with broad discretion over how many people to cover, what benefits to provide and how generously to compensate providers.That means the whole nation’s taxpayers end up footing much of the bill for New York’s Medicaid choices.And Hochul happens to be in charge of the most extravagant state Medicaid program of all, spending $3,100 per resident compared to a national average of $1,800.As such, she has more power to control Medicaid costs than anyone else.Psst, governor: The Medicaid bucks stop with you.Traditionally, governors of both parties in every state have taken it as their duty to try to keep Medicaid spending in reasonable check, or at least to make a show of it.Hochul has mostly avoided this chore, opting instead to minimize political friction with the health-care industry, Albany’s most powerful special interest. She has done little to initiate cost-cutting proposals of her own, and has failed to follow through on those she inherited — like a package of reforms, including tighter eligibility restrictions for long-term home he...