A North Country assemblyman is supporting legislation he says will shift Medicaid costs from counties to the state.

Assemblyman Marc Butler, R-Newport, says this would “provide significant relief to counties across the state, which in turn will reduce the burden on taxpayers.”

The Medicaid restructuring plan would require the state to assume all county costs of Medicaid within 10 years and 50 percent of New York City’s share of Medicaid costs within 20 years.

“Doing so incentivizes the state to find efficiencies, actively pursue Medicaid fraud and create savings to make the program more manageable. All local savings realized from the transfer must be passed on directly to the taxpayer,” Butler’s office said.

The state Medicaid program cost $72.1 billion in the 2017-18 fiscal year. New York state localities are paying $8.2 billion of this amount, according to Butler. Medicaid costs consume nearly half of property taxes collected by counties outside of New York City. New York is one of 18 states that require such a funding plan for the program, Butler said, adding that the state would be able to cover costs of this program through several funding sources.

“New York state has mandated excessively generous additions to Medicaid benefits which are not legally required by the federal government. New York spends more on Medicaid than Texas and Florida combined. In 2010, New York spent $10 billion more than California, a state which has twice the number of enrollees in the program,” according to a news release from Butler’s office.

“New York’s Medicaid costs have been burdening our taxpayers to the point of driving them out of the state. What good is a program if the general public cannot afford to fund it anymore?” Butler said in a prepared statement. “Our Medicaid restructuring program carefully transfers the responsibility of local costs to the state, ensures that a sound program is in place for those who need it most, and provides savings to the taxpayer. Our current program is not working, but it can be fixed.”

Butler represents the 118th Assembly District. It covers a north-south swath that cuts through the center of St. Lawrence County, from the Clifton-Fine area up to Stockholm. It extends south into Hamilton, Herkimer and Fulton counties, plus part of Oneida County.