BALCONY-Rochester invites you to attend a meeting with NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli

Tuesday, June 2, 2009
5:00 – 9:00 p.m.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and a panel of private equity professionals will discuss the Common Retirement Fund’s In-State Investment Program that is looking to invest $528 million in New York-based companies, including early stage and growth capital for Upstate New York businesses.

The New York State Common Retirement Fund invests with private equity managers who seek to invest in companies in New York state that require capital for growth or to refinance ownership. The program, created in 1999, targets investment of state funds in the New York state economy. The program aims to help generate jobs and private sector investment in the state.

The event will also offer an opportunity to personally network with Upstate and NYC capital providers; legal and accounting firms; and others interested in venture and private equity transactions.

For more information, click: DiNapoli

Retirement Income Security: The Oxymoron

by Thomas J. Mackell, Jr., Ed.D.

We are going through an incredibly frightening environment permeated by muddled objectives, conflicts of interest and what has been characterized as a “legacy of misplaced priorities.”

The world’s financial system has collapsed and global central banks are faced with new, unproven strategies to deal effectively with these turbulent unchartered waters. Credit, which was on a 20-year binge, remains constrained, the markets and the regulatory agencies have failed, and the old rules governing financial flows of capital are moribund.

The nation appears to be on a bullet train to bankruptcy.

Read the entire article: Mackell

by James T. Madore

Gov. David A. Paterson is unlikely to resort to widespread layoffs of state workers this summer to cut about 8,900 jobs, despite the tough talk between him and labor leaders.

The Budget Division said last week the state payroll had shrunk by around 1,200 positions since the job-cutting plan was drawn up. The reductions were because of a hiring freeze and people leaving for retirement or other reasons.

So, the positions on the chopping block now stand at 7,687 from a workforce of 136,490. These cuts will be achieved primarily through more attrition and wiping out unfilled jobs. At most, only a few hundred layoffs are expected, experts said.

Lowering the state’s labor costs has been complicated by Paterson’s weak position in negotiating with the powerful Civil Service Employees Association, Public Employees Federation and eight other unions. Besides having dismal poll numbers, he limited his leverage by not inflating the jobs at risk. Previous governors attempted to scare rank-and-file union members with higher numbers to lobby their leaders into making concessions, experts said.

Limited success in the past

Govs. Mario Cuomo and George Pataki had limited success in the 1990s, however. The unions refused to grant significant concessions and thousands of jobs were shed to close budget deficits. But this was largely done through attrition and early retirement incentives, not massive layoffs.

“Historically, these things tend to get worked out,” said Robert B. Ward of SUNY’s Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany. “The conventional wisdom is that the level of vitriol is higher than ever this year . . . but my sense is that things may have calmed down a bit.”

He added, “the number of actual layoffs is likely to be relatively small, if any.”

E.J. McMahon of the conservative Empire Center for New York State Policy agreed, though he said the unions had been emboldened by Paterson.

“He has shown no will power. . . . There is no reason to believe he will actually do anything,” McMahon said. “He should have threatened to lay off 30,000; then you would have union members thinking their jobs were in danger and pressuring the [union] leadership to accept what Paterson is offering.”

Experts pointed to California, Michigan, Wisconsin and other states that have compelled workers to take unpaid furloughs. New Jersey is calling for 14 furlough days from this month through June 2010.

Paterson so far has pushed for union members to skip this year’s 3 percent raise and postpone five days’ pay until they leave state service. He also wants to raise the minimum retirement age from 55 to 62 for new hires and require them to contribute more to their pensions.

A call for sacrifice

“We’ve offered a menu of ways that [the unions] could prevent the layoffs but they seem to want to try to vest the responsibility on me,” Paterson told Newsday. “I think the responsibility lies with them. They have got to show us that they are willing to make some sacrifices.”

Asked if he was committed to the job cuts, Paterson said he was, because otherwise $450 million in savings would be lost over the next two years. He also predicted the $131.8-billion budget would fall out of balance by $3 billion before the fiscal year ends in March because of plummeting tax collections.

Paterson’s job cuts affect only unionized workers at agencies under his control. Those taking the biggest hits would be prisons, 2,021; mental retardation, 1,434; mental health, 1,054; transportation, 624; and the State Police, 386.

Long Island would be spared somewhat because SUNY, the largest state employer locally, isn’t affected. Neither are the legislature and courts. There also aren’t any state prisons here.

Still, reductions are probable at institutions caring for the mentally ill , such as Pilgrim Psychiatric Center and Long Island Developmental Center, each with more than 1,500 unionized workers.

CSEA, in advertising critical of Paterson, has highlighted services for the disabled. Spokesman Stephen Madarasz said, “We’ve offered the governor lots of ideas for ways of saving money without layoffs. But this isn’t about money, it’s about trying to extract concessions from us to boost him politically.”

CSEA and PEF have called for using fewer consultants, hiring more workers to reduce overtime and expansion of flexible work schedules. Both have refused to amend contracts negotiated in better economic times.

MAYORAL CONTROL 2.0

By RANDI WEINGARTEN

MOST of us who backed the 2002 law that gives the mayor control of the city’s schools believed that it would bring stability, accountability and cohesion to the system. We still believe there is promise in that model, and we want to see the law, which expires next month, renewed. That is why we are offering the following suggestions to preserve it. As many New Yorkers know, we think the model can be improved, based upon what we have learned in the last seven years, by creating more checks and balances.

Think of it as Mayoral Control 2.0.

We have thought that a good way to do this would be to reduce the number of mayoral appointees on the 13-member Panel for Education Policy, which must approve policy changes, from eight to five. The mayor would no longer control a majority of members, but others with a stake in the system would be empowered. We have backed such a change in the law. But because Mayor Bloomberg, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith and others (including The Post) have disagreed, why not consider other possibilities that maintain the mayoral majority on the PEP but similarly provide for greater public input, broader discussion and more checks and balances on the mayor’s prerogatives?

What sort of alternative measures might work?

Ultimately, it’s up to the Legislature to decide, but here are some suggestions:

* Give PEP members fixed terms. Under the current law, the mayor can remove his appointees at any time. Giving them fixed terms instead would make them more independent and allow them to weigh in on issues without fear of being removed.

* Require the panel to hold hearings on the school system’s expense and capital budgets. Although decisions may ultimately rest with the mayor and the Department of Education, public exposure and debate of these issues might also serve as a useful check.

* Have policy proposals made in public in advance of panel meetings, complete with a list of pros and cons about the issues being voted on. Again, the additional debate and exposure could help inform — and improve — ideas pushed by the mayor and could act as a brake on ill-conceived plans.

* Structure meetings to allow for more public discussion and have them broadcast and archived online. The point here is not that any one of these measures is a prerequisite for renewing the law, but rather to note that there are many different possible ways to make improvements, bolster public input and provide greater balance. Indeed, other ideas may yet surface that would accomplish these goals.

In the end, all of us want a governance structure that creates and nurtures high-quality, safe learning environments that prepare children for college and life. The best such structure would ensure real discussion and debate before major policy shifts occur by creating an institutional voice for parents, students and teachers. That would lead to policies that best serve the interests of all parties. We know, for example, that schools that are collaborative, where teachers’ voices are heard and respected, are better for learning. Likewise, schools with parental input are inherently stronger. Thus, the Legislature could bolster the law to strengthen school-leadership teams, district-leadership teams and community-education councils as the 2002 law originally envisioned. Rather than being marginalized, these entities should be able to carry out their responsibilities so that parents have a role in decisions affecting their children and have their issues addressed.

Superintendents, who for a long time served as an important link between their communities and the central Department of Education, should also be re-empowered to provide schools with more local support, strengthen instruction and improve parental access. To improve confidence in student-achievement data and increase transparency over spending, the Legislature could require broader access to the numbers — and perhaps even an independent analysis.

The public’s trust in the data is crucial to its confidence in the system as a whole.

Finally, lawmakers should strengthen oversight and enforcement mechanisms. One shouldn’t have to go to court or hold a protest to get the school system to do the right thing. There are many different ways to run our schools. As the debate over governance moves forward, we should be looking for ways to ensure that every child has a quality public school to attend that actually improves outcomes for its students. Every company can improve its products. Teachers consistently work to improve their methods. So, too, can the Legislature produce a Mayoral Control 2.0 that improves the current system without totally reversing course. Doing so would put the city on the right track. Randi Weingarten is president of the United Federation of Teachers.

State’s budget gap could hit $6 billion by next year, says Governor Paterson

By Glenn Blain

More bad news out of Albany: The state’s projected budget gap could more than double to nearly $6 billion by the start of next year’s budget.

Gov. Paterson said Wednesday he’s bracing for a more than $3 billion shortfall in state revenues this year, which would come on top of the $2.5 billion deficit already projected for the 2010-2011 budget, which begins on April 1.

“We are going to have to look at further cuts,” Paterson said.

Paterson’s warning came less than two months after lawmakers adopted a $131 billion budget for 2009-2010 that boosted overall spending by about 9% and included more than $4 billion in new taxes and fees.

“New York doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem,” said Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Long Island).

Paterson said his prediction was based on what happened to the state in the 2008-2009 fiscal year, when the state lost $3 billion in revenues.

“I guess I’m the eternal pessimist,” Paterson said.

Paterson’s pessimism was not shared by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens).

Both said it was too early to predict the state’s financial fate.

“There are hopeful signs of improvement,” Silver said, referring to the economy.

Even Paterson’s budget office said the latest estimates don’t back up the dire predictions.

“What we see is that we are essentially in line with the financial plan,” said Budget Division spokesman Jeffrey Gordon.

Gordon said Paterson was simply “voicing his concerns about the uncertainties in the economic climate.”

State Controller Thomas DiNapoli warned this week that the state’s budget year got off to a “poor start,” collecting only $4.8 billion in revenues in April, about $239.1 million below projections.

Read more: “State’s budget gap could hit $6 billion by next year, says Governor Paterson” – http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/05/20/2009-05-20_states_budget_gap_could_hit_6_billion_by_next_year_says_governor_paterson.html#ixzz0GFEPQ5Nf&A

BALCONY-Rochester Health Care Forum Report

Thank you to those who attended the Business and Labor Coalition of New York’s BALCONY – Rochester, Health Care Forum on May 1st and to those who showed their support in seeking to reform New York’s health care system. BALCONY, in cooperation with the American Cancer Society, National Federation of Independent Businesses, New York State United Teachers, Rochester and Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation AFL-CIO, Monroe Plan for Medical Care, Downtown Community Forum, Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency, IBEW Local 86, and Rochester University Medical Center, was pleased to bring together business and labor to engage in conversation and share information.

The forum was held at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and was attended by more than 80 persons from labor unions, small businesses, health care providers, community advocacy groups and legislators. The event focused on updates on health care reform efforts at the local, state and national levels and on finding common ground between business and labor on practical solutions for improving New York’s health care system.

The forum featured presentations and analysis of Federal and New York State Health Insurance and Care initiatives as well as a review of regional Rochester health care services. Introductions were made by Mark Cronin, Regional Vice President, Lakes Region, American Cancer Society and James Nofziger, Co-Chair of BALCONY-Rochester. A comprehensive review of regional Rochester health care was presented by Sarah Trafton, Associate Executive Director of the Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency (click here for a Trafton Presentation).

Read the full report: Balcony-Rochester

GOVERNOR PATERSON INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO MAKE HEALTH INSURANCE MORE AFFORDABLE AND IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

Package Includes Proposals to Extend the Availability of COBRA Coverage for New Yorkers Who Lose Their Jobs and to Insure Dependents Up to Age 29

Other Proposals Will Make Insurance and Needed Health Services More Accessible

Governor David A. Paterson today announced legislation that will introduce several new initiatives to make health insurance more affordable and improve access to health care for more New Yorkers. The four bills submitted to the Legislature will: (1) extend the period of time for the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) coverage from 18 to 36 months; (2) permit families to cover their young adult dependents through age 29 under their job-based insurance; (3) require health insurers to get approval from the Superintendent of Insurance before increasing premium rates; and (4) enact a series of managed care reforms to protect the ability of consumers who have health insurance to timely access necessary health services.

“These reforms will make health insurance more affordable for everyday New Yorkers. More than two million of our residents do not have health insurance, partly because of the high cost of coverage for businesses, individuals and families,” said Governor Paterson. “We must take the necessary steps to improve our broken health care system. By making insurance coverage more accessible, we bring people into the system before they need emergency treatment, reducing the overall cost of health care to the entire State.”

The Governor‘s proposals include:

* Expand COBRA for Employees to 36 Months: This bill will increase the period for employees who lose their jobs to continue their health insurance under COBRA from 18 to 36 months. Under COBRA, workers who lose their jobs can continue purchasing group health insurance provided by their former employers’ group health plans for limited periods of time under certain circumstances for themselves and their families. COBRA generally applies to employers with 20 or more employees, while the State’s “mini-COBRA” law requires that smaller employers – those who have fewer than 20 employees – offer the same continuation coverage. This allows employees to maintain health insurance at a lower cost than if they had to buy it themselves on the open market. The Governor’s proposed legislation will allow New Yorkers who lose their jobs to extend their health insurance coverage for a longer period of time, which is particularly important in the current economy with its record high level of unemployment.

* Insure Dependents Through Age 29: This bill, outlined by the Governor in his State of the State address, will require that insurers allow unmarried children through age 29 – regardless of financial dependence – to be covered under a parent’s group health insurance policy. Young adults ages 19 to 29 represent 31 percent of uninsured New Yorkers. They often become ineligible for coverage under their parents’ policies at age 19 or upon high school or college graduation, find themselves in entry-level jobs that do not provide employer-based health insurance, and cannot afford to pay premiums for individual insurance policies – which are much more expensive than group policies. Under the bill, premiums would be paid for by families, not employers, and would cost less because coverage is under group policies rather than individual policies.

* Prior Rate Approval: This bill will require prior approval of health insurance rates by the Superintendent of Insurance. Since 1996, New York has operated under the “file and use” system, under which health insurers can increase premium rates for policyholders without first having to justify the increases to the Insurance Department. The bill will reinstate the prior approval process, giving the Insurance Department the ability to approve rate changes before they are put into effect, and providing better balance between consumers and insurers in the rate setting process.

* Managed Care Reform: This bill will implement reforms that help consumers receive the care they need and cut some of the red tape that results in inappropriately delayed or denied claims. Some of the protections that will benefit consumers under the proposal are:

o Prohibiting insurers from treating an in-network provider as out-of-network simply because the referring provider was out-of-network;
o Establishing minimum standards to ensure that non-HMO’s have an adequate network of providers to meet the patient’s needs;
o Extending current protections for consumers in HMOs to consumers in “HMO look-alike” plans – health plans that operate the same as HMOs but are not licensed as HMOs, such as “exclusive provider organizations” or EPOs;
o Reducing the prompt-pay timeframe from 45 days to 15 days for electronically submitted claims so doctors and hospitals are paid more quickly;
o Limiting health insurers’ ability to make administrative or technical denials of payment for otherwise medically necessary services;
o Reducing the time insurers have to review requests for post-hospital care;
o Deeming a claim to be approved (rather than denied) when a health insurer fails to meet certain claim review timeframes;
o Extending protections to doctors and hospitals when health insurers seek to recover alleged overpayments. The protections include basic notice and an opportunity to challenge the insurers’ overpayment recovery efforts.

Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo said: “The Governor’s legislative package includes substantial reforms that will have a real impact on New Yorkers, allowing those who currently cannot afford health insurance to obtain coverage. In addition, these proposals will benefit businesses which pay for group coverage for their employees.”

Commissioner of Health Richard F. Daines, M.D., said: “I commend Governor Paterson for his commitment to increasing access to health insurance, which gives individuals access to consistent primary and preventive care and helps them avoid chronic disease and avoidable hospitalizations.”

The legislation announced today builds upon other initiatives aimed at increasing the availability and affordability of health insurance. In March, Governor Paterson signed into law his Program Bill to help New Yorkers who lost their jobs at small businesses take advantage of a COBRA subsidy made available under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). In addition, the 2009-10 enacted budget eliminated certain barriers to enrolling in public health insurance coverage such as face-to-face interviews, finger imaging, and asset tests, and authorized the Department of Health to seek federal support for expanded coverage for low-income adults. Moreover, as of September 1, 2008, all of New York’s uninsured children became eligible for moderate or no-cost health care coverage under Child Health Plus.

New Ad Campaign Links Health Care Reform to Economic Recovery

A coalition including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network^SM (ACS CAN) and nine other organizations today launched a nationwide television advertising campaign that links fixing health care to fixing the economy and urges Congress to take immediate action to reform health care for the millions of people who are uninsured or underinsured.  In addition to ACS CAN, members of the Healthy Economy Now coalition include AARP, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, the American Medical Association (AMA), the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, the Business Roundtable, Families USA, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

The ad will begin airing this week and will continue to run for the next six weeks nationally on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, and locally in six states and the District of Columbia. A list of target media markets can be found in the Communications Materials Library (CML) [Link] and in the Access to Care community on the Link. The ad only mentions the name of the Healthy Economy Now coalition and does not feature the logos or names of individual coalition members.

The ad campaign does not promote a specific health care reform plan but will focus on the critical impact health care costs have on the economy. The campaign is part of ACS CAN’s ongoing work in the health care reform policy debate to ensure that lawmakers consider the interests of cancer patients, survivors, and their families as legislation is drafted. It is the latest in a series of ACS CAN health care reform collaborations with different organizations, which have included work with many of the groups listed above. ACS CAN’s health care reform effort is a component of the Society’s and ACS CAN’s joint initiative to improve access to care for all Americans, which is critical to achieving the Society’s mission.

A public relations agency working on behalf of the coalition will conduct targeted national media outreach in support of the ad campaign launch.  A press release, which includes a quote from Society and ACS CAN CEO John R. Seffrin, PhD, and the final version of the ad are available in the CML [Link] and in the Access to Care community on the Link. Information about the Healthy Economy Now coalition can be found at http://www.healthyeconomynow.org.   Additional information about the Society’s and ACS CAN’s joint Access to Care initiative and ACS CAN’s Health Care Reform campaign can be found in the Access to Care community on the Link.

Divisions that receive media inquiries should contact Steve Weiss, senior director, communications and media advocacy for ACS CAN, or Trista Hargrove, associate director, media advocacy for ACS CAN to coordinate efforts.

NY proposes changes to health insurance regulation

By Valerie Bauman

ALBANY, N.Y. – Gov. David Paterson wants to make health care more affordable and accessible by requiring health insurers to get state approval before raising premiums.

The proposal, now before the Legislature, would require companies to seek approval for increases through state Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo. Currently the state’s “file and use” system gives insurance companies broad discretion for rate increases without state approval.

“It has not worked because self-regulation in this sector has not resulted in the best pricing for New Yorkers,” Dinallo said. “It, instead, has resulted in driving New Yorkers out of health plans.”

Leslie Moran, a spokeswoman for the New York Health Plan Association, says there are serious problems with the measure.

“This is basically a bill that seeks to impose much greater regulation of health insurance premiums,” she said. “It’s basically exerting price controls on health care. It ignores the underlying factors that are responsible for an insurance premium. It would only regulate the cost of premiums without regulating the cost of providers, hospital cost.”

The bill is one of four Paterson proposals intended to help people who can’t afford private insurance, but don’t qualify for Medicaid, the government health care coverage for the poor.

“There are people who don’t qualify for the traditional safety net, but still need help, still need a leg up,” said Joseph Baker, acting deputy secretary for Health and Human Services to the governor.

Of New York’s uninsured, nearly one in three is between the ages of 19 and 29. Paterson’s proposal would allow families to cover children up to age 29 under insurance provided by their employer. They would be eligible if they’re unmarried and don’t have access to employer-provided insurance. Under the proposal, families would pay the premiums instead of employers, but it would cost less under group policies than if the young adult took out an individual policy.

Most plans now stop this coverage at 23 years old.

Senate Democrats already introduced similar proposals. Dan Weiller, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, said lawmakers would review the proposals; there is a hearing June 8 on prior approval of rate increases.

Paterson also wants to extend COBRA coverage from 18 to 36 months. COBRA allows people who have lost their jobs to continue with the same insurance plan they had under an employer. At $400 a month, it’s less than half the cost of insurance on the open market.

The final proposal in Paterson’s package would attack managed care to reduce bureaucracy that stands in the way of care and cut down on inappropriately delayed or denied claims. If an insurance company fails to meet a deadline for reviewing a claim, the proposal would require the claim to be approved.

The plan would also reduce the time insurance companies have to pay doctors and hospitals to 15 days instead of 45 days.

“You have a fairly regulated (health care) market,” Dinallo said. “The delivery of health care, not just insurance: Providers have regulated reimbursement and Medicaid and Medicare have built in ceilings, so when you have that, but you have one sector that is exclusively free market, you take the air out of the balloon.”

State Assembly says okay to gay marriage; fate rests with Senate

by Glenn Blain

ALBANY – The state Assembly gave its approval to same-sex marriage Tuesday night but the issue’s fate in New York remains uncertain.

“What we are doing is legislating civil, and I do mean civil rights,” said Assemblyman Matthew Tittone, a Staten Island Democrat who is gay. “I am not looking for the right to force the Pope to preside over my big fat gay wedding.”

Critics charged that the legislation, which was introduced by Gov. Paterson last month, would undermine traditional marriage and force religious institutions that run public facilities – such as dormitories and catering halls – to accept gay couples.

“The issue to me is the bible, the Torah,” said Assemblyman Dov Hikind, D-Brooklyn. “It is about God. It is about what I believe God wants.”

State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) supports same-sex marriage but has said he won’t bring the measure to the floor unless there’s enough votes for it to pass.