The New York state health commissioner said Monday that Long Island College Hospital would not be eligible for federal funding from the state’s Medicaid waiver request.
Testifying at a joint legislative budget hearing, Dr. Nirav Shah said that only hospitals with a plan to reduce inpatient admissions 25% would be eligible for federal funds.
“That kind of transformation can occur with Interfaith,” a central Brooklyn hospital that is battling bankruptcy. “LICH is a different story,” he said.
His remarks are in line with recent efforts by the Cuomo administration to move the conversation away from the notion of preserving hospitals and towards downsizing.
“I don’t want to ‘rescue'” hospitals, Mr. Cuomo told Crain’s editorial staff last week. Though he has lobbied vocally for a decision on the Medicaid waiver request, which would provide a $10 billion cash infusion to the state, the funds would cover upfront costs to downsize some of Brooklyn’s hospitals–not preserve them in their current state.
“Our opening premise is, you have an excess hospital capacity,” he told Crain’s. “You have beds that you don’t need. You have to close beds … and plan a county-wide, borough-wide health care system that makes sense.”
On Friday, State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery became the first local elected official to publicly support a pared-down version of LICH. In a letter to SUNY Board of Trustees Chair H. Carl McCall, she said “the financial Status of LICH as a fully staffed and operated traditional hospital does not seem tenable.”
It is unclear whether the Medicaid statement marks a change for LICH’s future, since a sale by SUNY appears imminent, and it is unclear that a new operator would have been eligible for waiver funds. Monday afternoon marked the deadline for interested parties to submit revised proposals for the hospital.
A spokesman for SUNY said that the university is reviewing proposals to make sure they comply “with the minimum mandatory requirements,” and that SUNY “will provide summaries as soon as we are able.”
