Frazier Revives Debate
Over Collins-Faso Idea
He Says Medicaid Mandate Unique
To NY, Unfair To Poorer Counties
By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
COOPERSTOWN – After last month’s gallery of objections to Otsego County supporting the controversial Collins-Faso Amendment, it looked like the idea was dead.
Today, county Rep. Ed Frazier, R-Unadilla, brought it back to life.
As the county board’s monthly meeting neared an end, the vice chair stood and distributed a sheet of numbers to his colleagues, then, rapid fire, he added meaning those numbers. A sampling:
- The 3,144 counties in the United States contribute a total $9 billion to Medicaid. Of that $9 billion, New York’s 62 counties pay $7.3 billion, and the 57 Upstate counties, $2.3 billion of that total.
- Minus New York, the 3,082 counties in other states pay only $1.7 billion – which means Upstate alone pays more than all the other 49 states combined.
- Of Otsego County’s $11.4 million tax levy, $10.2 million goes to Medicaid.