The New York State Legislature is holding its annual budget hearings for fiscal year 2014-15. On February 3, State Senate and Assembly members heard from a long list of stakeholders who testified about the Governor’s proposed Medicaid budget. Among that group, which included the Commissioner of the New York State Health Department, Dr. Nirav Shah, was 1199SEIU’s Director of Politics and Legislation, Kevin Finnegan.

“Our members are dedicated to caring for New Yorkers in times of illness and vulnerability,” Finnegan told the lawmakers in his prepared testimony. “They administer medication, lift patients, cook meals, mop floors, analyze laboratory samples, write prescriptions, provide counseling and work hard every day to provide comfort and care to patients in hospitals and clinics, residents in nursing homes and seniors and people with disabilities at home. The health care institutions they sustain are undergoing tremendous change, driven by a wide recognition that the most expensive healthcare system in the world has not delivered the best outcomes in the world.”

Finnegan addressed the importance of the Wage Parity Law, which needs to be fully implemented by March 1. The law, strongly supported by 1199SEIU, ensures that home care workers are able to continue to serve their clients while different home care programs, with different wage and benefit structures, are being integrated into managed care. He added that the law is also helping to achieve other goals of reform by reducing administrative costs and increasing the quality of the services through retention of experienced home care aides.

This year, those in need of residential nursing home services will be required to join managed care plans. The Governor’s budget proposes “quality standards language” to ensure that resources are available to retain a qualified staff to care for nursing home residents during this transition.

To that point, which is a center piece of 1199SEIU’s legislative priorities this year, Finnegan testified in strong support. “Without it (quality standards language), nursing home rates could see a “race to the bottom” on cost and quality in the competition for contracts with managed care companies. With quality standards in place, nursing homes can still compete on efficiency and quality of care, but managed care companies will not be permitted to drive rates below what is currently spent on staffing.

“Unlike the home care wage parity legislation, this would not raise wages for an underpaid sector of the workforce. It is designed to ensure that wages cannot be driven down from current levels, raising staff turnover and reducing the quality of care.”

Finnegan also stated 1199’s support of the Governor’s request for capital funding for safety-net hospitals, which is vital for our undercapitalized safety-net institutions. “Without support to build sustainable health care services that meet the needs of the community, we are in danger of institutions failing chaotically, leaving “health care deserts” in poor and underserved areas,” he said.