Meeting Member Ron Kim was left confused by Gov. Hochul’s veto over his invoice
(Photograph by Paul Frangipane
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Meeting Member Ron Kim, Chair of the Meeting Committee on Getting old, expressed disappointment and confusion following Governor Kathy Hochul’s veto of his invoice aimed toward regulating Grownup Day Care Facilities.
The invoice, A10142, sought to offer the New York State Workplace for the Getting old (SOFA) better oversight over Grownup Day Care Facilities. The bipartisan laws handed overwhelmingly in each chambers with no single dissenting vote earlier than Hochul’s determination to veto it.
Kim, who represents Meeting District 40, which incorporates the Queens neighborhoods of Whitestone, Flushing, School Level, and Murray Hill, voiced his frustration over the veto and defined why he believed the measure was mandatory.
“Before its introduction, I set out on a year-long listening tour across the state and held hearings on the rampant Medicaid fraud and criminal activity taking place in the adult day care space,” Kim acknowledged. “Operator after operator pleaded with the state to take a more hands-on approach, asking for us to regulate, standardize, and oversee the industry’s programming and activities.”
“My bill mandated minimum standards that older adults should expect from the social adult day care centers and empowered our state agency to look closely at any and all potentially unethical business practices,” Kim added.
Kim’s frustration additionally stems from Hochul’s determination to scale back compensation for aides employed via the state’s Shopper Directed Private Help Program (CDPAP), a Medicaid program serving roughly 200,000 New Yorkers.
“It is difficult to understand why our governor would allow the continuation of corrupt industry practices that siphon taxpayer money,” Kim mentioned.
He continued, “Between today’s veto and the unilateral decision to rip home care service away from 200,000 families, the people of New York may start to see a clear and undeniable pattern: Our government now seems completely unresponsive to the needs of its people. If we are to have any chance at winning back the public’s trust, my colleagues and I must continue fighting legislatively to deliver material improvements in our constituents’ lives.”
In line with Hochul’s govt price range, cuts to the Medicaid program are projected to save lots of $200 million in fiscal yr 2025 and double that quantity by 2026. Nevertheless, the cuts have been met with controversy, as lawmakers and advocates argue they’ll exacerbate the state’s ongoing healthcare workforce disaster.
Medicaid, the joint state and federal program, at the moment gives healthcare protection for roughly 7.6 million low-income New Yorkers.
