Hein requests county study of how GOP’s health plan would affect Ulster

March 14--KINGSTON -- Ulster County Executive Mike Hein wants to find out what plans to repeal and replace "Obamacare" will do to the county budget, the county health-care system and the health of county residents.

And he wants a report from Dr. Carol Smith, the county commissioner of Health and Mental Health, on those questions in 30 days.

Hein made the directive Monday in his first executive order of 2017.

"Dr. Smith and I share a firm belief that the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act is one of the most pressing public health threats facing our community," Hein said in a press release.

"When confronted with an issue such as this, it would be irresponsible not to act."

President Donald Trump said Monday in meetings at the White House that Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act, is "imploding" and that the country will benefit from replacing it.

Republicans in the House of Representatives are pushing a plan through the legislative process, though some Republican members of the House oppose that plan, and its passage in the Senate is in question.

Smith said the ACA reaches deep into Ulster County health care.

"A repeal of the law threatens to cause real harm to our most vulnerable residents, who under recently proposed legislation would see an increase in their share of out-of-pocket insurance costs," she said.

Republicans also want to cap the cost of Medicaid to the federal government. Ulster County covers $60 million of that cost locally.

"The law recently proposed in Congress threatens to force states and counties to choose between providing care to our most vulnerable residents or protecting taxpayers from the increasing burden of high health-care costs," county Budget Director Burt Gulnick said.

Under the executive order, Smith can tap into county legal, finance and other resources in preparing the report.

She will also hold at least one public hearing on the issue. That will be at 6:30 p.m. March 21 in the Legislature chamber of the Ulster County Office Building at the corner of Fair and Main streets.

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