ALBANY – Assemblyman Clifford W. Crouch (R-Bainbridge) announced Monday that the Assembly Minority Conference has released a plan to shift the burden of Medicaid from Local municipalities to the state. New York has the second-most costly Medicaid program in the nation behind California, and is also one of 18 states to require counties to cover some of the non-federal costs of Medicaid. Forcing localities to pay the local share of Medicaid causes New York to have some of the highest property taxes in the country.

“I think this a great plan that will help reduce property tax costs for residents of the Southern Tier,” said Crouch. “Lately we have seen the Assembly Majority up in arms and scrambling to make changes based on what’s going on at the federal level. I see this plan as a step in the right direction toward focusing on what we can do here in New York to solve some of the problems that have been looming for decades. If shifting this cost reduces property taxes for middle–class families, I see it as the right thing to do.