The budget provides more than $355 million over the governor’s budget for hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies:

• New York Westchester Square Medical Center will receive $614,000 more

• Gold Crest Care Center will receive $587,000 more

• Eastchester Park Nursing Home will receive $806,000 more

• Hebrew Hospital Home, Inc., will receive $1.3 million more

• Kings Harbor Multicare Center will receive $2.7 million more

• Providence Rest will receive $1.2 million more

• Throgs Neck Extended Care Facility will receive $715,000 more

• United Odd Fellow & Rebekah Home will receive $609,000 more

Asssemblyman Benedetto also helped to eliminate wasteful spending and fraud by creating the New York State False Claims Act — providing whistleblowers with an incentive to root out fraud — and strengthening the Office of Medicaid Inspector General by adding more auditors.

Fighting for New York’s uninsured children

Assemblyman Benedetto worked with Governor Spitzer to expand the federal-state Child Health Plus program to cover all of New York’s 400,000 uninsured children. President Bush placed new restrictions on New York’s program, which will prevent the state from taking positive steps forward. These restrictions include:

• Requiring a one-year waiting period for thousands of New York’s working poor, and

• Denying coverage to any children in families making $51,625 for a family of four

Children should not go without health coverage for one day, let alone an entire year. Assemblyman Benedetto will fight alongside Governor Spitzer to oppose President Bush’s new restrictions and deliver New York’s promise to provide health insurance to every child.