For immediate release: March 21, 2016
A Statement from HCA, LeadingAge NY, the Healthcare Association of New York State and the New York State Health Facilities Association
Statement from Coalition of Healthcare Providers: Any Minimum Wage Increase Must Be Fully Funded
The proposed minimum wage hike must not and cannot reasonably move forward without funding to fully offset its costs.
The minimum wage should only be allowed to rise to a level fully matched by immediate funding for the cost impact on providers, as calculated by our healthcare coalition in a rigorous methodology shared extensively with the State Legislature and Governor’s office.
Additionally, the state must provide full funding for each incremental increase of the minimum wage.
Currently, legislative proposals either exclude the wage increase or substantially underfund it, with only $200 million allocated across our entire spectrum of services. The final budget must reconcile these positions so that if an increase in the minimum wage is included, its cost to affected providers is fully funded.
Every day our members provide vital and critical health services across the state. They operate on narrow or negative margins that cannot absorb 66% hourly wage hikes and their ripple effects.
Our industries are different from fast food establishments and we cannot just pass the costs along to consumers. The services we provide are a public good, to large degree supported by reimbursement from public programs that have long provided a safety net for low-income and elderly New Yorkers.
Without adequate state support for any wage increase, many organizations will close, worker hours will be reduced or eliminated, access to care will be imperiled, and some of our communities will suffer the loss of quality healthcare services.
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For more information:
Home Care Association of New York State, Roger Noyes (518) 810-0665
LeadingAge New York, James W. Clyne, Jr. (518) 867-8868
Healthcare Association of New York State, Melissa Mansfield (518) 431-7741
New York State Health Facilities Association, Stephen B. Hanse, Esq. (518) 462-4800 x25