Cuomo Has New Taxes Hidden As Medicaid Reform And Counties Medicaid Share Up 9.4%

The Devil is in the details ~ unknown

  Did you hear about New York's new business friendly atmosphere with Cuomo saying, "No new taxes, period," or that your property taxes will be contained.  Well, the devil is in the budget details.

1.  "[Cuomo's] redesign team ...calls for taxing radiology visits and physician-based surgeries...business groups across the state are hammering Cuomo on what they see as an about-face. His panel wants to expand the 9.63 percent surcharge on the other medical services to raise $100 million more a year. But that would add up to 2 percentage points more to health insurance premiums."
"The revenue-raising surcharge on medical services "is really a tax increase that will force employers and workers to pay more for health insurance," said Heather Briccetti, acting president The Business Council of New York State. ...  The Employer Alliance for Affordable Health Care called the measures "are nothing more than a hidden tax on New York's small business community."

2. Did the brilliant intellects at the Medicaid Redesign Team consider that the tax on medical services will also have to be paid by the New York State Medicaid plan?     Duh.

3. As reported on this blog yesterday: for the Counties, this year's Medicaid expenditure were $13.8 Billion and the cap on next year's expenditure will be $15.1 Billion(+9.4%)?
 Does increasing property taxes by $1.3 Billion not count as a tax increase?

    Someone is happy reports the New York Times, "New York’s influential health care workers’ union [SEIU 1199] appears on the verge of wringing significant victories out of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s austerity budget, even as he nears potentially historic cuts in spending."

Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out twice as much in taxes as he formerly got in wages. ~H. L. Mencken