Poughkeepsie… Dutchess County Executive William R. Steinhaus sent letters today to New York State Senators Stephen Saland and Vincent Liebell urging them to sponsor legislation to put a cap on Medicaid costs to counties now.

“The State will charge Dutchess County government $132,000 every day this year for this one state-mandated program. I urge our local Senators to introduce legislation similar to the New York State Assembly’s Local Taxpayer Relief Act of 2004 (NYS bill A.9924) so we may be able to achieve the reform from Albany we desperately need,” said Steinhaus.

The local county share of the 2004 state mandated Medicaid cost is projected at $48 million dollars. Dutchess County has had to find funds to cover double digit increases over the past two budget cycles and has seen a startling 68% growth to the county’s share for Medicaid costs since 1998.
 

Attachments: Executive Letter to State Senator Saland (.pdf)
                    Executive Letter to State Senator Liebell (.pdf)