By Dan Lenard
Buffalo, NY – Red Budget, Green budget. Let's have a reality check. It is not Joel Giambra's personal driver and his family's patronage jobs that are breaking our county budget. The discussion of closing our libraries, gutting cultural spending and laying waste our Sheriffs department is a short term band aid to a long-range, or should I say a Long Term problem, and history has shown that the one-cent sales tax will also be only a temporary band-aid that will end up being anything but temporary.
Let's look outside the box of what everyone is arguing about and look at the real culprit. New York State has a socialized health care system for the mostly elderly, chronically disabled and the poor. Along with that is an entrenched, subsidized healthcare industry driving up the cost of that care. It is Medicaid and the State mandates on county funding that is driving this budget crisis. And the real kicker is that much of Western New York's tax money ends up in New York City.
How simple can I make this? The longer you live, the greater the chance is that you will need long term care, or you will need help with basic personal care either at home, or in some sort of facility. Most people truly believe that there is a government program for which they are entitled to pay for this care. Medicare only pays for the first hundred days of nursing home care, if you're lucky. Medicaid is Welfare, not an entitlement program and should be there for the truly needy. With The average annual cost of Nursing home care per person in Western New York at $237 per day or $87,000 per year it doesn't take long to force someone to become destitute and eligible for Medicaid.
According to a Buffalo News report this last Sunday, nearly 80% of Erie County's Medicaid costs are for long-term care for people who have impoverished themselves, some of them deliberately, through loopholes, to qualify for assistance.
So, what is the most constructive way for our government to change this trend? Through tax incentives, and New York is actually doing this. New Yorkers who own long term care insurance policies are eligible for a 20% state tax credit, and credits are much better than deductions.
New York also has the innovative New York State Partnership program that allows New Yorkers to purchase private insurance at an affordable premium and have the all their assets protected. It's not for everyone, but by encouraging Long-Term Care insurance ownership, the state can substantially lower its Medicaid costs, make Medicaid a relief program for the truly needy and relieve the counties of this outrageous and unfair burden.
It's very easy to blame local officials for our fiscal woes. While there is political patronage and nepotism, along with substantial waste due to inefficient systems, the cost of Medicaid pales it in comparison. Albany and the political majority from downstate have passed the cost on to us. All our property taxes go to pay the Medicaid bill. Because of these mandates, the money the county allocates for libraries, the Philharmonic and the zoo no longer exists. You can't squeeze blood from a stone. Plus, the baby boom generation is beginning to retire and within 20 years or less, will start to need long term care. With fewer people paying into the system to pay for that care, our future looks bleak indeed. The system is broken. Fixing it is going to be a painful task. We may have to get used to doing more with less. However, citizens planning ahead and taking personal responsibility for their long-term care needs would be a good start towards a long term, workable solution
Looking outside the box, I'm Dan Lenard.
"Looking Outside the Box" with veteran Buffalo radio broadcaster Dan Lenard is a monthly feature of WBFO News.