Tax & Budget

Strange Accounting: Understanding the Growth in New York’s Medicaid Spending

The Executive Budget projects total state-share Medicaid growth of 17.1 percent, or $6.4 billion – an extraordinary rate of growth. Department of Health Medicaid spending alone is projected to rise by $4.3 billion or 13.7 percent. Yet enrollment has declined sharply over the past 18 months and is projected to remain virtually flat this year. What explains this dramatic divergence between spending and enrollment?

2025-02-16T13:36:59-05:00February 15th, 2025|State Budget|

Fact Sheet: The 2026 Executive Budget’s Fiscal Outlook

The executive budget makes significant upward revisions to its expected revenue for both the current and upcoming fiscal years (fiscal years 2025 and 2026, respectively), raising anticipated tax receipts by $4.6 billion and $4.1 billion from the levels projected in the fiscal year 2025 enacted budget financial plan. Strong personal income tax receipts drive higher-than-anticipated revenue.

2025-01-29T10:50:00-05:00January 29th, 2025|State Budget|

What to Expect in the Budget: Housing Policy

The fiscal year 2026 budget cycle is upon us and “affordability” is taking center stage. The mandate to address the rapidly rising cost-of-living in New York has never been more urgent, with consumer prices up about 20 percent since 2020. The cost of housing, in particular, has skyrocketed in the years since the Covid-19 pandemic, with home prices up over 50 percent—making housing costs the number one priority for addressing affordability in New York.

2025-01-31T14:33:57-05:00January 20th, 2025|Housing, State Budget|

What to Expect in the Budget: Healthcare

Healthcare didn’t take center stage in Governor Hochul’s State of the State address this week, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be central to New York politics this session. After all, rising healthcare costs are a key component of the affordability crisis squeezing New Yorkers, with premiums for individual and small-group health insurance set to increase by 12.7 percent this year.

2025-01-19T10:55:58-05:00January 19th, 2025|Healthcare, State Budget|

Governor Hochul’s Affordability Policy Report Card

Governor Hochul’s State of the State address made clear that “affordability” is her top priority this session. As part of her agenda, Governor Hochul and her team have put forward a set of policies intended to “put money back in New Yorkers’ pockets.”  The four major proposals include a tax cut, an “inflation rebate payment,” an expansion of the child tax credit, and fully funding free school lunches for all public-school students in the State.

2025-01-18T11:20:10-05:00January 18th, 2025|Housing, State Budget|

FPI Testimony on “City of Yes”

My name is Emily Eisner, and I am an Economist working with the Fiscal Policy Institute. I am testifying in support of the “City of Yes” plan. The City must pass the zoning reforms included in City of Yes, and, in addition, the City must increase investment in housing affordability through expanded fiscal measures. These two sets of policies — zoning reform to allow for increased supply, and fiscal support for housing affordability — work together.

2024-12-26T16:42:25-05:00October 22nd, 2024|City Budget, Housing, Social Policy|
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