Gov’s Medicaid cuts will hurt hospitals

Members of local hospitals and nursing homes are speaking out against a proposed $1.2 billion cut to Medicaid funding by Governor Eliot Spitzer, saying that it would have a negative impact on all patients.
The proposed cut is part of Spitzer’s 2007-2008 executive budget, which totals $120.6 billion. It is being pushed to be passed by April 1.
It is estimated that, in a year, New York Hospital Queens (NYHQ) would lose $2.3 million. NYHQ President and CEO Stephen S. Mills explained that that money would come out of a general income fund, forcing the hospital to make changes “across the board.”
“We look at … health care to be universal,” said Kevin Ward, Senior Vice President and CFO of NYHQ. “We can’t compartmentalize these reductions to say we’re only going to affect Medicaid patients. This does affect everybody.”
Mills said that, among the areas that could be impacted by the cuts, are the emergency room and graduate medical education.
Cosmo La Costa, Senior Vice President, Continuum of Care and Administrator at Silvercrest Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, said that at his facility, which stands to lose $2.5 million, a great deal of emphasis has been placed on recruiting, retaining and improving the quality of nursing home employees. Losing funds will hurt this effort.
Members of the Margaret Tietz Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Chapin Home echoed similar concerns during a roundtable discussion held by Margaret Tietz on Thursday, March 15. The roundtable was also attended by Assemblymember Rory Lancman, Councilmember David Weprin and representatives of Assemblymembers Nettie Mayersohn, Mark Weprin and Senator Shirley Huntley.
Gerald H. Hart, the executive director of Margaret Tietz, said that the facility would suffer from a $1.2 million annual loss. With the reinstatement of the trend factor, it would still stand to lose $800,000 a year.
Hart said that the effects on nursing homes could include operating losses, closings, job losses and the suffering of care quality. He also said that Margaret Tietz, which has high occupancy and is already operating on a loss, cannot afford a cut.
“We can’t do more with less anymore,” Hart said.
If the budget is passed by April 1, Ward said that hospitals could start “feeling the pain” in July when new Medicaid rates are released. However, he said in some cases there could be a retroactive element going as far back as January.
During the panel discussion at Margaret Tietz, Councilmember David Weprin said that, as April 1 approaches, there could be a window of opportunity for compromise.
“The reality is that the governor wants to have a budget by April 1,” he said. “In moving forward, I think as you get closer to April 1, I think he’s more likely to compromise.”