HPA News

Statement by Eric Linzer, HPA President and CEO

“In the face of pending federal cuts as a result of HR. 1, Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget takes a measured approach to maintaining stability for the health care system and offers several sensible reforms to address the rising cost of care.

“The Governor’s proposed changes to the state’s No Surprises Act and Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process are important steps to make health care more affordable for New Yorkers. Updates to the No Surprises Act will help to protect consumers and employers from out-of-network providers charging excessive prices, and excluding Medicaid from the IDR process will stop high-price providers from continuing to exploit a loophole that allows them to misuse state law to get reimbursed more than what Medicaid pays.

“We appreciate that Governor Hochul included $50 million in funding for New York’s Quality Incentive (QI) Program. The QI Program has been essential to improving the quality of care for the state’s most vulnerable residents and supporting initiatives that are at the core of addressing health disparities in underserved communities. At a time when the federal government is cutting Medicaid and eliminating funding on health-related social needs programs, sustainable funding is critical to building on these efforts and we urge further investment in the FY27 budget to fully fund the program at $300 million.”