New York State Sens. Nathalia Fernandez, Julia Salazar, Zellnor Myrie and Gustavo Rivera held a press conference in Albany calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to fully fund safety net hospitals on April 25.
"Safety net hospitals have been there for our communities when we needed them most,” said Myrie, who represents Crown Heights. “By passing the Health Equity Stabilization and Transformation Act, we can end the two-tiered system of care in our state and leverage additional federal dollars to make sure our safety nets have the resources they need to continue providing care to the New Yorkers who depend on them."
Safety net hospitals primarily serve uninsured and low-income individuals residing in communities that suffer from disproportionate rates of chronic disease, poor social determinants of health and experienced significantly worse health outcomes during the pandemic. Brooklyn is the home to a variety of safety net hosptials including Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center and NYC Health+Hospitals/Woodhull.
“There are millions of people in New York State who depend on safety net hospitals for care,” said Brownsville Assemblymember Latrice M. Walker.
“They predominantly serve low-income patients who are often dependent on Medicaid or don’t have insurance. The governor’s proposed budget cuts will have an adverse impact on patient care and the financial stability of hospitals that serve some of the most vulnerable among us. These are hospitals that were on the frontlines during the peak of the COVID pandemic. Now it’s time for the state to step up for them, not only with proper funding, but also by passing the Health Equity Stabilization and Transformation Act, which will change the way hospitals are reimbursed for Medicaid patients.”
Medicaid rates have not been meaningfully increased in New York since 2008, the group said. Because safety net hospitals largely care for Medicaid-dependent or uninsured patients, these hospitals are unable to offset the low reimbursement, forcing them to run deep negative operating margins, the legislators said.
To solve this problem, Rivera, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, introduced the Health Equity Stabilization and Transformation Act, which would allow the State to leverage a larger share of Federal Medicaid funds and ensure safety net hospitals are reimbursed appropriately.
If the FY 2024 budget includes the $1.3 billion for safety net hospitals, this Act would unlock an additional $2.6 billion in unused federal government dollars for the State and free up roughly $2 billion in Disproportionate Share Hospital funding to use for other priorities.
"Safety Net hospitals are important for my district and there should be an increase in funding, not a decrease in funding,” said East New York Assemblymember Nikki Lucas.
“At a time when everyone talks about equity and fairness, how is it that decisions that are being made about healthcare funding in areas that have been underserved for so many years, can be so unequitable and unfair. New York's safety net hospitals are essential community healthcare providers that have been chronically underfunded and overlooked for decades. This is a perfect opportunity for everyone who raises the equity flag to stand up for what is right. I am standing with my colleagues to call on Governor Hochul to reinstate the $700 million from last year’s budget and provide an additional $600 million that will allow these safety net hospitals to invest in critical services and programs.”
