ALBANY – Gov. Pataki yesterday secured an additional $1.5 billion in federal funding for Medicaid, provided the state Legislature agrees to scale back the expensive health-care program for the poor.
Pataki got word of the boost in federal aid – which would come over three years – during a meeting in Washington, D.C., with Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt.
The plan would shift emphasis for long-term care from nursing homes to less expensive, community-based settings and contain Medicaid costs, including those for prescription drugs.