Healthcare Access & Affordability

Improving healthcare access and affordability in Northern New York is both an economic necessity and a moral imperative. Our healthcare system is increasingly strained and often unable to meet residents' needs. Although this crisis affects all Northern New York residents, it disproportionately impacts low-income families, senior citizens, veterans, and individuals living in remote areas. Furthermore, Northern New York faces a significant shortage of mental health and addiction treatment providers, leaving many residents without essential care.

A primary challenge facing the healthcare system in Northern New York is the severe shortage of specialists, primary care physicians, nurses, dentists, and mental health providers. Contributing factors include rural isolation, reduced opportunities for the families of medical professionals and population decline, which limits the economic viability of medical practices. Healthcare institutions also face rising expenses, financial strain and difficulties recruiting providers.  As a result, residents face higher healthcare costs, extended travel times to reach care, difficulty finding specialists and providers who accept new patients and challenges in scheduling timely appointments.

Strategies to Improve Access and Affordability

1. Strengthen & Grow the Healthcare Workforce

• Provide tax credits for providers who practice in designated shortage areas within Northern New York.

• Support residency programs tied to community hospitals.

• Support programs such as Career Pathway Training (CPT) that cover students' educational expenses for healthcare careers.

• Partner with institutions such as the SUNY system and BOCES programs to ensure access to nursing, medical assistant, EMT and behavioral health training tracks.

• Increase loan forgiveness and tuition-assistance programs for healthcare providers who commit to serving in our communities.

• Incentivize healthcare institutions to provide employer-assisted housing for nurses and medical professionals through either subsidized housing or by supporting the construction of employer-owned housing facilities.

• Strengthen our communities by:

  • Building parks, recreation, and community amenities that attract new and younger residents and are comparable to those in other growing communities.

  • Improving access to broadband and cellular services.

  • Providing quality childcare options that support working parents and families.

2. Strengthening Northern New York Hospitals & Networks

• Expand hospital stabilization grants, such as the RHSP & SHIP federal grants, to provide funding for rural hospitals.

• Ensure fair Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.

• Support capital funding projects to improve facilities, equipment and technology through grants and tax incentives.

• Encourage hospitals to drive efficiencies of scale by sharing specialty providers across counties and facilities, consolidating administrative services and enrolling in group purchasing organizations to reduce equipment, supply, and pharmaceutical costs.

3. Expanding Access Through Non-Traditional Means 

• Increase access to mobile health services that provide preventive screenings, vaccinations, and routine check-ups.

• Promote telehealth as a viable alternative to in-person visits when appropriate by expanding broadband access, ensuring reimbursement parity and training community residents in telehealth services.

4. Making Healthcare More Affordable

• Reduce costs by increasing state subsidies for ACA marketplace plans, cap prescription drug costs for essential medications and expand Medicaid eligibility for working-poor households.

• We must ensure that dubious HHS decisions on vaccines and care recommendations do not alter insurance coverage for these critical programs. 

• Support local health departments in offering free screenings, vaccinations, and maternal health services.

• Expand sliding-scale clinics for uninsured and underinsured residents.

Conclusion

Access to reliable healthcare is both a moral and economic imperative for the growth and sustainability of Northern New York communities. Although government alone cannot resolve every challenge, they can provide the support necessary for communities to build reliable healthcare systems. Together we can!