And they’re off …
Crain’s is reporting that the Greater New York Hospital Association and the powerful 1199-SEIU health care workers’ union have finally thrown down the legal gauntlet and sued Governor Pataki to restore $110 million in Medicaid funding.
The lawsuit is the latest volley in a protracted budgetary ping pong game that has been playing out in Albany between Pataki, the Legislature, and the state’s various powerhouse health care interests. In a nutshell, it asks the court to rule that the Legislature has the constitutional right to reinstate the funds and that the governor must enact them.
The lawsuit is also a pointed reminder of how much as changed since that March morning in 2002 when Dennis Rivera endorsed Pataki with the words: “Never in the history of 1199 SEIU, has a Governor of this State demonstrated such unwavering commitment to the delivery of quality healthcare or been so responsive to the needs of the workers, the patients, and the entire healthcare industry, as has Governor Pataki.”
We guess this means that Rivera probably wants to amend that statement.
— Lizzy Ratner
