Leader-Herald |
Try getting a lift to the grocery stores in Gloversville. Or maybe downtown, or to a plaza in Johnstown. One cab company in Gloversville ceased operations last week and another declined to say whether it’s operating.
A representative of Glove City Taxi hung up Thursday when asked if the company had either sold its assets or ceased operation.
Kevin Orcutt, of Caroga, who state records show established Glove City Transportation LLC in March 2022, said he no longer owns the company. State records say the company is inactive.
“I sold that business in April,” Orcutt said Friday. “New Medical Transportation now owns it.”
Gloversville Police Chief Michael Garavelli said Thursday he had been told the service was acquired by New Medical Transport of Mohawk, which provides medical transportation services in Saratoga and Montgomery counties. However, officials at New Medical could not be reached for comment.
The only other cabbie in Gloversville, Swoop Transportation, closed down last week after less than three months in the city.
“It was just made official this week,” said Swoop owner Nicholas Wayman of Gloversville. “There was not enough business to keep going.”
The company had operated for a bit more than a year, Wayman said, but business dropped off when it moved to Gloversville from Fonda. “With the economy, it’s been rough,” Wayman said. “You can get everything delivered.”
In short order, he found that he was making less than the $10,000 insurance policy he must cover, per cab. “After three months of doing that, I can’t,” he said.
Medical transportation services remain — that’s what New Medical provides — and Fulton County contracts with Medical Answering Service to coordinate transportation to Medicaid-paid services.
But Garavelli worries about the people who need a trip beyond the medical, such as groceries.
“Oh God, yeah. At this time of year?” Garavelli said. “And the people who walk in the street because the sidewalks aren’t shoveled.”
Complicating matters is that Price Chopper on North Main Street will close Jan. 10, Garavelli said. Many of its customers were able to walk there and lug groceries home, even with the city’s bus service.
The next closest grocery is Hannaford on 5th Avenue Extension, about 1.5 miles away.
“Gloversville Transit doesn’t run 24/7,” he said. Depending on the route, service ends between 3 and 6 p.m. each day.
ALBANY — With the number of uninsured people expected to increase significantly in the coming years because of Medicaid changes and expiring health care subsidies, community health centers across New York are calling for “substantial investment” so they can continue to provide care to millions of low-income patients.
In a letter addressed to Gov. Kathy Hochul, the Community Health Care Association of New York State urged the governor to include a series of provisions in her upcoming state budget proposal — including an infusion of Medicaid dollars — to address what organization leadership describe as an antiquated revenue stream that threatens the viability of community health centers throughout New York.
“Our mission remains strongly aligned with yours in ensuring a robust safety net for vulnerable New Yorkers, and we must be prepared to meet the State’s growing needs,” Rose Duhan, the association’s president and CEO, wrote in the Dec. 8 letter.
Community health centers, also known as federally qualified health centers, provide primary and specialty care to more than 34 million people across the country, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. In New York, there are more than 70 such centers that operate 900 primary,........