Contact: Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489

NYSNA Statement on New York State Budget Address

New York–In response to Gov. Hochul's budget address, the New York State Nurses Association released this statement:

NYSNA is pleased that Governor Hochul’s executive budget proposal focuses on healthcare and addressing important social determinants of health like housing, childcare, and combatting gun violence and climate change. Increasing Medicaid funding and support for safety-net hospitals and expanding access to care for millions of New Yorkers builds on last year’s investment in healthcare. We specifically commend the governor’s focus on supporting access to mental health services, including reopening inpatient mental health beds and creating additional capacity through increased wraparound services and outpatient services.

As we do a deeper dive into the specifics of the proposals, we look forward to working with the governor and the legislature to ensure the enacted budget continues the commitment from last year to recruit and retain frontline healthcare professionals by providing them with the resources they need to provide the care all New Yorkers deserve. As we continue to face the COVID-19 pandemic and crisis of understaffing in our healthcare facilities, it is imperative we support our frontline caregivers and not demand they do more with less.

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The New York State Nurses Association represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.

For more information, visit nysna.org.