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Pensions & Benefits
The Case Against Tapping the Health Insurance Premium Stabilization Fund
June 14, 2011
Diverting money from the Health Insurance Premium Stabilization Fund may seem harmless, but it is a fiscal gimmick that only postpones the tough decisions needed to address the underlying causes of the City’s financial predicament.
Report
Transportation
Benchmarking Efficiency for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Services
April 05, 2011
This report helps identify priorities for ongoing efforts to control costs at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority through benchmarking by comparing unit cost measures with other large urban transit agencies in the United States. It also suggests priorities for new efficiency initiatives.
Report
Energy & Environment
New York’s Green Policies
Too Much or Too Little – A Competitive Perspective
April 03, 2011
This report assesses how New York compares to other cities in pursuing green objectives and suggests how New York’s leaders can set priorities for taking additional steps to promote environmental goals in ways that align with goals of economic growth and urban competitiveness.
Blog
Health Care
Medicaid Redesign – Significant Progress On A Tough Task
March 09, 2011
The Medicaid Redesign Team changed the dynamic of Medicaid budgeting by focusing many of the stakeholders on the same goal: controlling spending while improving quality of care. The collaborative process promises to be a useful model as reform efforts continue.
Blog
Health Care
One Good Way to Save More on Medicaid
February 21, 2011
One of the Medicaid Redesign Team's proposals – reforming the state’s payment method for nursing homes – should be strengthened to increase savings and improve care.
Blog
Pensions & Benefits
Simple But Significant
Savings from the Elimination of the Medicare Part B Reimbursement
December 19, 2010
As New York’s elected officials consider options for balancing budgets in the face of record deficits, they should eliminate a public employee fringe benefit rarely offered anywhere else: reimbursement for Medicare Part B premiums.
Blog
Capital Spending
When Will the Capital Budget Cuts Really Arrive?
December 09, 2010
Failure to impose fiscal austerity on the infrastructure agenda is evident in growing levels of capital commitments.
Blog
Pensions & Benefits
What is OPEB and Why Does it Cost $9.4 Billion?
December 05, 2010
The true cost of retiree health insurance and "other postemployment benefits," or OPEB, was $9.4 billion in fiscal year 2010. Why it cost so much and what should be done about it.
Report
Health Care
Analysis of the New York State Medicaid Program and Identification of Potential Cost-Containment Opportunities
November 17, 2010
This report identifies trends in expenditures and enrollment in New York’s Medicaid program.
Report
Health Care
No Easy Solution
Effective Medicaid Control Must Focus on the Elderly and Disabled
November 17, 2010
This report examines Medicaid spending in New York relative to other states and finds the program is big not just because New York is a populous state or it covers a lot of people. It recommends a multi‐year agenda to restructure service provision and the cost of care for the elderly and disabled.
Blog
Capital Spending
Mind the Gap
Funding Repair and Maintenance of New York City Infrastructure
July 26, 2010
Past neglect has created a need for nearly $5.6 billion in repair of existing facilities in New York City in order to bring them to satisfactory condition, known as a "state of good repair." Yet the City's capital budget allocates only about half, with the gap especially large for streets, hospitals, and parks.
Blog
Capital Spending
New York City Capital Spending: A Retrospective
April 21, 2010
Analyzes the impact of capital investments under Mayor Bloomberg.
Blog
Economic Development
End the Empire Zones Program and Adopt Excelsior
March 24, 2010
Explains why Empire Zones were ineffective and argues in favor of the improved features of Excelsior tax credits.
Report
State Budget
In The Danger Zone
A Comparative Analysis of New York State's Long-Term Obligations
March 08, 2010
This comparative analysis examines the debt burden of the 50 states. It finds that New York's debt burden is well above national averages and greater than that of all but three states.
Report
Transportation
Working in the Dark
Implementation of the MTA's Capital Plan
October 20, 2009
This report analyzes the MTA’s effectiveness at managing its five-year capital plans. It does so by examining the capital projects scheduled by the MTA for work in the three-year period from January 2005 to December 2007.
Report
Economic Development
Overhauling the New York Power Authority's Economic Development Programs
September 22, 2009
This report focuses on the numerous subsidized power programs for economic development run by the New York Power Authority. It is the second in a series, the intent of which is to identify ways that New York's current tools can be used more effectively.
Report
Capital Spending
How Public-Private Partnerships Can Help New York Address Its Infrastructure Needs
December 11, 2008
This report explores the application of public-private partnership (PPPs) in New York by explaining its definition of such a relationship and offering in-depth guidelines, potential applications (including highway bridges, New York City school buildings, New York City parks, and higher education facilities), examples on a global, national, and local level, and potential missteps and cautions.
Report
Health Care
Paying More, But Not Getting Better Care
The Case For A New Payment System For Nursing Homes In New York's Medicaid Program
December 09, 2008
New York’s Medicaid program is the most expensive in the nation, projected to cost $45 billion in fiscal year 2008-09 and to consume nearly one-third of the New York State budget. New York State can provide needy residents with better nursing home care and save about $1.2 billion annually in fiscal year 2008-2009 by changing the way its Medicaid program pays nursing homes. This report explains why the current system is wasteful, perpetuating inefficiencies and inequities without assuring high quality care, and how a better payment system might work.
Report
Economic Development
It's Time to End New York State's Empire Zone Program
December 02, 2008
The Economic Development Zone program has become a vehicle for giving tax breaks to a variety of corporations with no clear, consistent, verifiable justification for the public investment. This report describes the benefits enjoyed by participating firms and how those benefits are distributed among economic regions of the State and types of firms; identifies and elaborates on the three serious problems that compromise the program’s efficacy; and asserts that the Empire Zone program cannot be fixed, citing past failures to do so, and should end.