BATH – The proposed reform to the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) made public Tuesday must not be allowed to affect New York’s funding for Medicaid administration, Steuben County Department of Social Services Commissioner Kathryn Muller said today. Muller urged state leaders to continue state funding provided to all counties for the administration of local services. Steuben DSS now receives $3 million annually to administer Medicaid services across a wide range of programs, including social services for long-term care, mental health, public health and office for the aging.
In addition, under the ACA, the state increased the number of individuals receiving Medi-caid. The expansion allowed the state to pass on $800,000 annually in federal funding to Steuben. That funding also is at risk under the proposed reform, Muller said. If the state withdraws the funding due to federal reforms, the standards are likely to remain in place, adding those costs and the added burden of paying administrative costs directly on Steuben taxpayers, she said. "Should this funding go away, it will devastate Steuben and other counties," Muller said. "We should not be penalized for the choices the state has made."
