(Bloomberg) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo accused two New York Republicans in the U.S. House of selling out their constituents and risking the state's economy with a plan to win votes for a bill to overhaul the Affordable Care Act by exempting most counties from paying for Medicaid.
The proposal crafted Monday by U.S. Reps. Chris Collins of Lancaster, near Buffalo, and John Faso of Kinderhook, near Albany, would force the state to absorb the $2.2 billion of Medicaid costs paid by counties outside New York City. Under House Speaker Paul Ryan's struggling effort to repeal former President Obama's universal health-insurance program, the state already stands to lose $4.6 billion over the next four years, Cuomo said.
"It is nothing short of a targeted war against New York," the Democratic governor said of the proposal, which would affect only his state.
Ryan has struggled to gain support for the health care bill from House conservatives and Senate Republicans. That prompted House GOP leaders to make a series of 11th-hour changes Monday night in a bid to secure more votes. Collins said his proposal was needed to persuade more New York Republicans in the House to back the measure.
Counties outside New York City pay an average of about 44 percent of their property tax revenue to cover Medicaid expenses, Faso and Collins said. New York should follow the practice of most other states, which don't require local counties to contribute to Medicaid costs, they said.
In an interview, Collins questioned Cuomo's anger, challenging the governor to find savings in his $63 billion state budget to make up for the lost county contributions.
"If he can't do his job, I will," Collins said.
