ROE’S ANNIVERSARY: The Democratic-led chambers of the Legislature are approving measures today meant to expand maternal health access in New York. Lawmakers pointed to the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that upheld abortion rights. The ruling was overturned in 2022, setting off a push from legislatures in Democratic-heavy states like New York to approve new protections for abortion. “Every step we take in a post-Roe world toward greater reproductive equity and maternal health is monumental,” Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said. “There’s no small deed when the stakes are this high.” The measures include the development of new standards for maternal depression screenings and increased access to doula care. “On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we understand the continued threat women face when looking for reproductive healthcare,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said in a statement. “While we work to strengthen those protections, we must also work to protect mothers and babies from the concerning trend of maternal and infant mortality facing our state.” Voters in November will consider adding an amendment that is meant to enshrine a broad array of rights into the state constitution, including the right to an abortion. — Nick Reisman MEDICAID: Advocates and legislators gathered in front of the Senate Chambers to call on Hochul to address Medicaid funding, which they said her budget plan could put the health care of over 7 million New Yorkers on the chopping block. The legislators, accompanied by The Greater New York Hospital Association and 1199SEIU, knocked the state’s failure to raise the Medicaid reimbursement rates. In New York, 63 percent of hospitals lost money in 2022, “75 percent are at risk to be put on a financial respirator,” GNYHA President Ken Raske said. “We know that Medicaid pays 30 percent less of the cost of care. The state has more cash at this point in its financial plan than at any time in the history of New York State. We’re not asking for an arm and a leg, we are just asking for a fair share of that excess.” Hochul’s proposal would trim a few billion dollars off the state’s whopping $99.8 billion Medicaid bill after the expiration of enhanced federal funding tied to the pandemic and amid the growing cost of caring for an aging population. — Shawn Ness EDUCATION: Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced more than $30 million in funding to upgrade facilities in schools across the borough. Richards is allocating the aid to pay for capital projects at public schools throughout Queens. August Martin High School in South Jamaica, for example, received $4.3 million to renovate its cafeteria, refurbish its aging gymnasium and install a cooling system in its auditorium. “Sadly, many schools in our borough and city do not have [high-quality] facilities thanks to long-standing disinvestment in school infrastructure,” Richards said in a statement. “To address this, I focused my latest round of school capital allocations on rectifying long-standing inequity in school infrastructure spending, especially among Queens high schools.” The borough president doled out $10.7 million in fiscal year 2023 and $11.5 million the year before that. — Madina Touré
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