Politics on the Hudson

   As chaos reigns in the Senate this week and the Assembly continues its work as usual, Gov. David Paterson has vetoed two bills that passed both houses. One would have prohibited any damages Medicaid-eligible patients or the patients’ estates recover in lawsuits against nursing homes from being considered in calculating their monthly contributions toward care, or toward repayment of past-due amounts.

   The bill sponsors wanted to prevent money from being paid back to a facility that was found not to have properly cared for a patient. But, the governor’s veto said, federal and state Medicaid policy require the state to seek recovery,  and signing the bill could have jeopardized federal Medicaid payments to the state.

   The governor signed two other pieces of legislation to protect nursing-home patients this year. The first will prohibit retaliation against a patient when the patient’s representative sues a nursing home. Protection is already in place for patients who sue on their own behalf. The second law will clarify that patients can sue in connection with any alleged injury by the nursing home. Some courts have shot down cases on the basis that the subject of the claim wasn’t covered by law, according to the bill’s sponsors.

   The second bill Paterson vetoed would have authorized the Urban Development Corp., working with the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, to provide grants, revolving loans and loan guarantees to not-for-profit corporations, municipal corporations and public-benefit corporations to build or expand farmers’ markets. The governor said he and his wife, Michelle Paterson, are great supporters of initiatives that promote the purchase of fresh produce. However, the bill does not include funding.

   Paterson has vowed to veto any legislation that would have a negative impact on state finances, and he said the same is true for bills whose budgetary impact would be pushed off to another day.