Lawmakers discuss economic priorities with local business, community leaders

PLATTSBURGH | Elected officials at the annual Legislative Breakfast agreed with priorities outlined by their votes in the North Country Chamber of Commerce survey. The top four 2026 concerns encompass a range of related issues, with availability of quality affordable housing topping the list. "We're talking about workforce housing, not low-income housing," Chamber President and CEO Garry Douglas said. Local business leaders agreed with the chamber's business survey, which prioritizes a state budget with no tax increases; the need to halt rising energy costs and increase transmission capacity; and the region's access to quality, affordable childcare. Affordability connected discussion to many issues with business, municipal government and residential impacts: rising healthcare insurance costs, energy concerns with the state's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), regional equity provisions, Medicaid waste and restrictive childcare regulation. Local elected officials aligned concerns with a brief overview of what they are doing in Albany. Assemblymembers Matt Simpson (District 114) and Michael Cashman (District 115) joined NY 45th District Senator Dan Stec at the podium and answered questions asked by local business leaders. Lawmakers largely reiterated recent statements they've made regarding solutions. CANADIAN NEIGHBORS But hovering over affordability concerns in this region is worry about damage done to the U.S/Canadian relationship. Clinton County Historical Association President Geri Favreau shared with lawmakers that the county's summer and fall celebrations for America250 -- a committee she chairs -- have lost Canadian participants for events such as reenactments. She asked legislators to help rebuild the relationship. Douglas conveyed the same concern, noting that 95 percent of North Country Chamber of Commerce businesses surveyed said "improvement of U.S.-Canada relations generally, and the people-to-people relations in particular, should be a regional and national priority." Douglas said the Chamber is doing everything they can to start the healing process. Without discussing federal policy or the origins of discord, he said, "we have to deal with the reality that the relationship has been injured," he said. "It's vitally important to us, not just economically, but also socially in this area." He suggests it will likely take years to return to feeling like friends and family across the border. He shared the Chamber's recent outreach video being shared across Canada. He played the message to a room that fell silent. "We Remember, Not Just Neighbors, but Friends and Family" airs in both French and English, pointing to generations of cross-border enrichment, warriors, volunteerism, alliance and camaraderie. "We have to explore the ties that unite us," Douglas said, "it's not about that we miss their money, we miss them." Douglas encouraged everyone to share the video message on their websites. He also pointed out that new Assemblymember Cashman was appointed to lead the New York-Canada Task Force and had invited the chamber leader to sit in on meetings in Albany, which included the consul general of Canada and the delegate general of Quebec. "It was substantive, it was encouraging and it was timely," Douglas said. He also pointed to travel impeded by increased roadblocks at the border. "Hill and Hollow had to recently cancel a concert by a Canadian musical group, because even though we engaged the congresswoman and Senator Schumer's office to try to get this very simple request over the line in time, we couldn't. It is something we are paying attention to," Douglas said. LOCAL QUESTIONS Questions from local business and community leaders dug into specific underlying problems. Jordanna Mallach, supervisor of the Town of Harrietstown, said she is finding it's harder and harder to navigate communication with state agencies. "You talk to two people, you get two different answers," she said. "Nobody calls you back, when they do, they have no idea what you're talking about with regards to the Adirondacks," she said, asking for advice, guidance or assistance. Stec responded to everyone there: "If you're dealing with a state agency, please do not be shy about reaching out to our offices. We have our own Rolodex. When my office, or Michael's, or Matt's office calls on behalf of somebody ... as soon as they realize they're talking to a legislative office, they will pass this to somebody else. A lot of times, we know who to call. We can help move things along." "As a former town supervisor, I've been there," Cashman said. "Please reach out to us." State University of New York, Plattsburgh President Alex Enyedi asked everyone in the room who had connections with SUNY Plattsburgh. At least one-third of 160 guests raised their hands. He pointed out that New York has a workforce problem. "We are not developing the jobs to fulfill the economic needs of the State of New York," Enyedi said, asking lawmakers to support Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposals to provide state-of-the-art education in the SUNY system to produce state-of-the-art employees to drive a state-of-the art economy. Cashman tied an answer back to Mallach's question about working with state agencies and a recent meeting at SUNY ESF, which contributes many environmental staff to state jobs. "Approximately 25 percent of the (state) workforce is going to retire in approximately the next five years," he said. "We need to partner with SUNY to make sure that we're looking at the best new technology of tomorrow for also the jobs of today." Stec thanked the educators in the room, hearkening back to his years as a kid in public school, and now with a child who is about to graduate and attend college outside of New York State. ....................................................................... IMPACT: HIGH COST OF HEALTHCARE At the chamber's legislative breakfast on March 6, Advocacy and Resource Center Executive Director Robin Pierce voiced concern over the sharp rise in costs for state marketplace healthcare insurance. "The North Country, I believe, truly doesn't understand what the impact (of Medicaid subsidy cuts) is going to be for those people who buy off the exchange (NY Health Plan Marketplace). In particular, the Essential Plan. What is Albany planning to do to help mitigate that?" she asked. "The truth of the matter is that the North Country is probably going to have many, many uninsured people," Pierce said, "and it's just going to fall on the hospitals to cover that cost. And we're already struggling in the hospital system." Simpson said the region was struggling even before the Medicaid bill moved to make significant cuts last year. "Our nursing homes were not seeing any of the increases that they should have. Many years, they did not get an increase at all. I think the latest one was a one percent increase," he said. "And we haven't solved it. I talked to somebody yesterday, and I asked them how much their Family Plan is, and it is $36,000," Simpson said. "It's unsustainable and we need to find a solution." For years, he said, state leaders have expressed a willingness to solve the problem. "New York, in the budget, is trying to mitigate (the cost increase). ... there's nothing more important than the health and safety of our seniors and those that really need our help," he said. "There are many areas in the budget that, if we really, truly wanted to solve this issue within the state budget, we could do it." Stec said Gov. Hochul put an additional $1.5 billion in her 2027 budget for hospitals and nursing homes. "I think the number last year that nursing homes were seeking to get back to neutral was $600 million, so that tracks with the $1.5 billion number that the governor has put in her proposal this year," Stec said. He spoke about ongoing financial questions with Medicaid. "Politics being what it is, you're going to have the federal government pointing fingers at the state, and the state government pointing back. The truth is likely somewhere in the middle," Stec said. "Before the Big Beautiful Bill and before the changes in D.C. in the last year or so on this front, New York has had a Medicaid crisis. It has not been keeping up." Stec cited a New York State Comptroller's report, which he said showed "$2.6 billion a year was going out -- and this has nothing to do with immigration -- in Medicaid money to people who don't live in the state anymore. That's your nursing home problem right there." The report was issued last September and encompassed six and a half years, July 2017 through October 2024. The $1.5 billion in unreviewed member payments was found from 2017 to 2019. The audit says the state did not start enrollment review through the DOH federal Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS) until October 2019 "and, as a result, $1.5 billion in premiums was paid from 2017 to 2019 on behalf of unreviewed members." The complete audit is available online: www.osc.ny.gov Stec said the Empire Center put out a number suggesting total fraud in New York's Medicaid system is $20 billion annually. The report, Medicaid Overdose, was published in Nov. 2024 and can be downloaded online: empirecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Medicaid-Overdose-Empire-Center.pdf Monitoring growth in healthcare access, the report says: "Even assuming most of the 3 million excess enrollees are non-disabled adults and children, they could be costing Medicaid $20 billion or more per year." "Half of that is on counties," Stec said. "$10 billion is at the state level. "I recently put in my own bill -- and you'll be hearing more about it next week, there will be a big push on it -- that would require more auditing, which puts more hands on the (Medicaid) rolls to make sure they're accurate, to make sure that they're verified. "There is a biometrics component just for the purpose of Medicaid. Let's tackle that $10 billion." Cashman said he is working the concern from a local standpoint. "A lot of our municipalities, for example, have 20 percent in healthcare rates going up. We have shared constituents and taxpayers," he said. "New York State also needs to make sure rural America has a fair share. We're not getting our fair share here in the North Country: We need to protect the rural healthcare systems." One-size-fits-all legislation in New York does not work everywhere. Cashman said statewide policies do not account for regional differences. Policies for Manhattan, such as Universal Childcare, are not necessarily going to work in Malone or Plattsburgh or Saranac Lake. Infrastructure, transportation and the geography is not the same. Cashman wrote and introduced the Regional Equity and Policy Implementation Act, a bipartisan bill sponsored in the senate by Stec. The legislation would require regional impact assessment for any major policy to be implemented. "It is simple," he said. "It asks a basic but very important question: How will this policy impact different parts of New York State?" The bill is available to review on Cashman's Assembly website: nyassembly.gov/mem/Michael-S-Cashman/sponsor/ Legislation introduced by Stec is available on his Senate website: nysenate.gov/senators/daniel-g-stec/legislation Legislation introduced by Simpson is available on his Assembly website: nyassembly.gov/mem/Matthew-Simpson/sponsor/ "Energy costs, policy equity are only part of the equation," Cashman said. Important work is also required, he said, to support workforce development, affordable housing, infrastructure and strong cross-border relationships. "There are no democratic roads, there are no Republican water lines, we have to boil things down to the simple things," Cashman said. Stec said the top priorities outlined in the North Country are the top priorities of the Senate Republican Conference, thanking the chamber for the opportunity to speak with area business leaders. "It's been an honor to be here," Simpson said, noting their collaboration across party lines. "Politics in Albany isn't reflective of what the North Country stands for," he said. "It's very evident in the progress and the successes that you all see here. Everybody leaves that at the door and moves forward, and it shows," Simpson said. "I want to thank you for all the work you're doing."

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Lawmakers discuss economic priorities with local business, community leaders

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