New York officials awarded nearly $500 million to 22 hospitals and five large public hospital systems to help them continue key services, The Modesto Bee reports.
The Empire State reached an agreement with the federal government in April to reinvest $8 billion in Medicaid savings. The state aims to cut hospital utilization by 25 percent and help financially troubled providers increase use of outpatient and primary care.
Following another round of applications, New York Health Department Spokesman Bill Schwarz said further funding from the "Medicaid waiver" will be available next spring. Two hospitals' funding requests were deemed unnecessary during this phase, according to the article. "This helps those institutions that are financially challenged or to help maintain operations as a bridge to get to larger funds," Schwarz said. "The goal is to achieve the triple aim of reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality."
Among large public hospital systems in the state, New York City Health and Hospitals Corp. received an interim subsidy of $152.4 million, along with $37.2 million for Nassau Health Care Corp.; $20.4 million to downstate SUNY hospitals; $15 million to upstate SUNY hospitals; and $8.5 million to SUNY facilities on Long Island.
Among the safety net facilities receiving subsidies were Brookdale Hospital ($53.4 million), Interfaith Medical Center ($36.9 million), Kingbrook Jewish Medical Center ($26.3 million) and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center ($4.3 million), all of which are in Brooklyn.
Recipients in the Bronx included Montefiore New Rochelle ($16.7 million) and Montefiore Mount Vernon ($12.5 million), while St. John's Episcopal in Queens received $2.4 million.
A survey in April found nearly half of New York hospital executives were unsure of how to use funds to reduce admissions among Medicaid patients. New York officials put the cost of avoidable hospitalizations to the state's Medicaid program at nearly $2 billion a year, FierceHealthFinance previously reported.
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