ITHACA, N.Y. (WHCU) – Tompkins County officials are calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to change a plan in her proposed budget.

Hochul plans to change a cost-sharing arrangement that would shift Medicaid costs to county governments, which would then likely be passed on to taxpayers. Under the Affordable Care Act, the Federal Government passed eFMAP (Enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage) funds to New York and its counties. The state typically would then pass those funds onto county governments, as was intended with the passage of the eFMAP provision by Congress. The change would shift $625 million in costs to counties in New York.

“If the state’s goals are to increase affordability and provide robust services to those in need this is an unwise proposal,” said Tompkins County Administrator Lisa Holmes. “Shifting the costs onto counties adds more burden to the local governments that carry out much of the work that the state takes credit for. This would make it more difficult and expensive for us to do that work and will result in increased property taxes, which in-turn impacts affordability.”

Estimates show the impact for Tompkins County in 2024 would be $1.5 million, equal to a 3% increase in the property tax levy. There could additionally be more than a $600,000 impact in 2023 if the budget passes as is.

Tompkins County Legislator and Budget, Capital, and Personnel Committee Chair Deborah Dawson says it’s imperative the Governor change course on this.

“If the state is going to intercept money from counties, then I expect that they will be granting more dollars to our municipalities and delivering more services directly to our residents,” said Dawson. “Otherwise, it’s nothing more than saddling the local taxpayers with a higher bill for no new returns on that investment.”

A resolution was unanimously passed at a February 21,2023 Tompkins County Legislature meeting calling on New York State to continue to pass funds through to counties.

“This is simply unsustainable,” said Tompkins County Legislative Chair Shawna Black. “It’s a small amount for the state to absorb in their budget, but a huge amount for counties to absorb in ours. We may be left with no choice but to pass the cost on to local taxpayers, or to cut services that our public depends on.”