Gov. Hochul’s decision to outsource New York’s home health care program to an out-of-state company with a known history of payment delays, care disruptions, and lawsuits is a terrible mistake. Rep. Ritchie Torres is calling for an independent investigation into the process, citing testimony from a state disability official who noted the administration selected Public Partnerships LLC (PPL) before the bidding process even began. As a quadriplegic New Yorker and caregiver team, we know that for many disabled or chronically ill people, life would be nearly impossible without the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP). The program allows New Yorkers to receive quality care in their own homes from someone they know and trust, typically a chosen friend or family member. Without CDPAP, more than 250,000 New Yorkers will be forced into institutional care like nursing homes or group homes, which are not only prohibitively expensive but are often rife with abuse. These are not reasonable alternatives. Any disruption to CDPAP would be inhumane. The program gives New Yorkers suffering from illness or disability the freedom to live autonomously and access the care they need regardless of their financial situation. Our community-led fiscal intermediaries are extremely supportive, ensuring the Medicaid reimbursement process is smooth and providing the stability that is needed with long-term care. Beyond that, having the flexibility to choose our own fiscal intermediary to administer Medicaid reimbursement allows the option to select those that offer language services and culturally competent care, or local benefits like support centers. These companies are able to serve our state’s diverse populations because they operate locally. That’s why the governor’s decision to outsource a program that more than 250,000 New Yorkers rely on to one out-of-state company is shocking and short-sighted. Even worse, the state has set an unrealistic deadline of April 1 for when PPL must take over statewide services. Considering the bureaucratic nightmares we’ve seen come out of Albany recently, and PPL’s track record in other states with much smaller programs, it’s safe to assume that a three-month deadline to transition that many people will result in disrupted care. Hochul says that PPL will bring 1,200 jobs to the state when they move their headquarters here, but she hasn’t said anything about the thousands of caregivers and more than 700 small businesses that will be out of work as a result. The numbers just don’t add up. From the beginning, Hochul has accused this program we rely on for care of being a “racket.” She has attempted to frame us as parasites of a broken system, rather than seeing us as marginalized constituents who are trying to get all the support we need. What’s more, she has not apologized for the pain she has caused the chronically ill and disabled communities with her disrespectful rhetoric. In this world of rising health care costs and even worse outlooks for those who need long-term home care, why is the governor not exercising compassion? The “racket” in this scenario is Albany’s choice to remove state comptroller oversight of this massive contract and award a monopoly to an out-of-state company. Monopolizing care does not result in improved care, it results in exploited care. It’s clear that Hochul only sees this program as a budget issue, not as a human issue, and she does not care about how devastating the disruptions will be. It’s simple: The governor is balancing the budget on the backs of vulnerable New Yorkers. It may be easy for Albany to neglect New York’s most vulnerable populations, but the result of outsourcing CDPAP to one company will be disastrous for people like us. CDPAP is overwhelmingly used by New Yorkers who need care but cannot afford it, so even a small disruption in reimbursement by Medicaid could leave caregivers unable to pay our bills. And so, we are asking our New York elected representatives to demand that the Department of Health and Hochul’s administration reconsider this hasty timeline and reevaluate the selection of PPL to run a monopolized program. It is indisputable that this process of upending CDPAP in such a rushed timeframe will result in disaster. There are alternative solutions to protect CDPAP from fraud and abuse while ensuring the entire program is not dramatically disrupted. Senators could start by co-sponsoring Sen. Gustavo Rivera’s bill, S9901, to repeal the single fiscal intermediary monopoly. Albany is gambling with the choice in health care for hundreds of thousands of our state’s most vulnerable just to save a buck. Let’s hope the state can make this right. Hilty is a quadriplegic New Yorker who relies on CDPAP and Edinger is his caregiver.