New York

Moneyball: Maybe it’s the Geek in Me. Maybe Because it Saved Me.

February 25, 2012 Data

Tomorrow night’s the Oscar awards ceremony and I have a favorite. We’re movie goers and usually analyze them pretty carefully. Well, even if I didn’t think it was a good movie, Moneyball would be my sentimental favorite. Fortunately, it is a good movie. But I owe them. Here’s why. Michael Lewis has been a favorite […]

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County Operated Health Services & How We Got Here

February 16, 2012 County

County operated nursing homes have a long history. They haven’t kept up with the changing environment. So even if a bit oversimplified, it’s worth taking a long view. First Generation. Non-Medical, Primarily County Funded Long before Medicare and Medicaid were established in the mid-1960s, county government provided classic public health and backstop services. Indeed, long […]

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Sell it Now!

February 14, 2012 County Government

So if New York does the right thing and tells Albany County that no, they cannot build a new money-losing nursing home, what happens next? And before the State acts, if the odds are say 50/50 or higher that the State will reject the application, what should be done in the meantime? Sell it. Sell […]

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Albany County Nursing Home, Why New York Needs to Change How it Reviews Subsidized CON Applications

February 13, 2012 County Government

It’s time to end the practice by New York’s Department of Health of allowing county “commitments” to using local property tax increases to subsidize nursing home losses as a means to meet the financial feasibility criterion in the certificate-of-need process. This practice contradicts and undermines the State’s policy of slowing growth in property taxes. Such […]

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Remember “Stages of a Project”?

February 8, 2012 County Government

It appears that Schenectady County is moving ahead with building a new nursing home. Too bad. If it gets done, it will be just under the wire. The closer Schenectady has gotten to re-building, the more County leaders have made their discomfort explicit. Many will now say in private that it’s a mistake, but having […]

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The Albany County Nursing Home Soap Opera Continues: Episodes 4,564, 4,565, 4,566

December 16, 2011 County Government

Episode 4,564: When we last tuned in, the New York State Public Health and Health Planning Council had politely suggested that Albany County might want to re-evaluate its plans to build a new, ridiculously expensive Nursing Home. The rationale was that the State was about to issue new nursing home rates based on an entirely […]

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Albany County Budget Vetoes Would Increase (Not Decrease) Property Taxes

December 13, 2011 Budget

Albany County Executive Michael Breslin, with just a couple weeks to go before his 16 year tenure ends, has issued a series of unusual budget vetoes. These may be his most significant budget vetoes ever and they certainly are within the past half-dozen years, but there’s a twist. They would lead to increased property taxes […]

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The Next Generation of Medicaid in New York

December 12, 2011 Budget

I used to write a lot about New York’s Medicaid program here (here are the Medicaid posts). But then, just as a cap on growth of local government (New York City and counties outside NYC) Medicaid liabilities was created, I went to work for one of those counties. The county liability is now fixed by […]

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Another NY County Shedding its Nursing Home

December 9, 2011 Budget

No budget detail yet, but as part of its budget process, Ulster County has determined to get out of the nursing home business. They’ve established a county-run limited development corporation (LDC) as an intermediary to smooth the process. More details later.

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Kudos to the NYS State Comptroller, but …

December 9, 2011 Budget

My last post, Yes, Rockland County is in Trouble, was devoted to the release by New York’s Comptroller, Tom DiNapoli, of an Audit (PDF) of Rockland’s financial condition. Clearly, the Comptroller and his staff have been watching closely enough to start their audit earlier this year. Good for them. Carefully done audits take time and […]

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