Gov. Kathy Hochul faced criticism Tuesday from a member of the public inside a shopping mall near Albany over her Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP).
The governor was beginning to greet shoppers at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland when she was approached by a woman who had concerns about the state’s plan to reform CDPAP. It took place at an event in which Hochul was set to discuss proposals related to her State of the State affordability agenda.
This fall, Hochul announced Georgia-based company Public Partnerships LLC will oversee the CDPAP program as opposed to the some 700 individual companies who oversee consumer accounts now.
CDPAP provides self-directed home care to the elderly and disabled and pays loved ones to be their caregivers.
In front of a row of cameras, the woman confronted the governor over the plan, which she alleged would cost thousands of program users care, and said it was orchestrated in a “back room deal” that excluded those who will be directly impacted.
“You must make home care a priority, you must preserve CDPAP. And affordability does not mean going to the people that you are playing pay to play with,” she said.
While the governor’s staff attempted to intervene, Hochul herself remained calm and assured her that she wouldn’t lose care, and repeatedly told her that she had been “lied to.” At one point, the governor put her hand on the woman’s shoulder as she attempted to engage in conversation with her.
“There has been a campaign of lies out there. We’re going to make sure you’re taken care of, we’re going to make sure you’re taken care of,” Hochul said before being whisked away to continue greeting shoppers.
The governor has stressed the reforms are about weeding out the hundreds of intermediaries and streamlining the service. PPL has started to transition more than 250,000 New Yorkers who rely on the program from those individual companies that the governor’s office says have contributed to widespread fraud.
Reached later in the evening for comment, Sam Spokony, a spokesperson for the governor, echoed her sentiments.
“The unethical business executives that fund the Alliance to Protect Home Care are spreading blatant lies to scare vulnerable New Yorkers into thinking they’re losing access to home care, which is of course completely false,” he said. “These shady middlemen are pushing their campaign of lies in a desperate attempt to continue boosting their profits at the expense of millions of New York taxpayers. Our reforms will protect home care for New Yorkers and we’re looking forward to delivering a stronger CDPAP through the statewide partnership that takes effect in April 2025.”
Alliance to Protect Home Care subsequently fired back, criticizing Public Partnerships LLC.
“PPL’s disastrous record isn’t a lie and neither are the concerns of this New Yorker,” said Bryan O’Malley, the executive director of the Alliance to Protect Home Care. “Here are the facts: PPL has a failed track record across multiple states, including missed payments to home care workers, wage theft allegations, and letting thousands of consumers and workers fall through the cracks.”