photo Assemblyman Ramos is fighting the governor’s massive health care cuts and tax increases


Governor Pataki’s budget raises our taxes and threatens our health care!
No more tax increases!

The governor’s state budget proposal is full of higher taxes and fees that Suffolk families simply can’t afford. He’s proposing a:

  • Homebuyer Tax - increasing the state’s mortgage tax by 40 percent

  • Clothing Tax - a permanent sales tax on clothing, allowing only two, one-week exemptions per year

  • Driver’s Tax - new and increased DMV fees, including hiking registration fees by 33 percent for most passenger vehicles and as much as 75 percent for certain vehicles - new and increased DMV fees, including hiking registration fees by 33 percent for most passenger vehicles and as much as 75 percent for certain vehicles

Stop stripping Family Health Plus!

Last year, Ramos supported the state takeover of Family Health Plus, a law that will save Suffolk County $7 million this year alone. Now the governor plans to cut Family Health Plus by eliminating vital services for many families, including dental, vision, medical equipment, home health services and hospice.

His plan also hikes co-payments for:

  • inpatient hospital care from $25 to $250

  • prescription drugs from $1 to $10

  • outpatient surgery to $75

  • emergency room visits to $50

Don’t threaten our most vulnerable!

This year, the governor’s health care cuts and "sick tax" would cost Suffolk hospitals nearly $25 million - an expense that would eventually be passed on to patients. According to the Healthcare Education Project, a joint initiative of the Greater New York Hospital Association and 1199 SEIU, his budget would cost:

  • Southside Hospital $1.5 million

  • Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center $2.1 million

"Governor Pataki has proposed a budget that cuts health care and raises taxes on working families, while giving the wealthiest 1 percent - those making over $500,000 - a tax break. That’s just not fair."

- Philip Ramos
Where’s our fair share of Medicaid funding?

The governor’s Medicaid proposal sidesteps the real problem facing New York - a lack of federal Medicaid dollars. New York has the lowest reimbursement rate in the nation, receiving aid for just half of the cost.

But instead of lobbying his good friend President Bush for an adequate reimbursement rate, the governor proposes slashing programs and cutting needed services.

Ramos understands how important quality affordable health care is

Last year, the Assembly and Senate’s bipartisan budget rejected many of the harshest cuts the governor sought - cuts that could have devastated the health care industry and jeopardizes thousands of jobs. Last year Ramos:

  • rejected Pataki’s $429 million "sick tax" on hospitals and home health care agencies

  • rejected the harsh restrictions the governor proposed for access to long-term care

  • rejected 75 percent of the governor’s proposed Medicaid pharmacy cuts
Assemblyman Ramos


"Raising taxes and cutting health care only hurts working families. We need to work together to ensure that the state budget is fair for Suffolk County families."

- Philip Ramos
Assemblyman Ramos
Assemblyman
Philip Ramos
1010 Suffolk Ave
Brentwood, NY 11717
(631) 435-3214

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