Public Employee Press


Save our safety net!
Support New York City's Public Hospitals

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

A COMMUNITY AND LABOR coalition that includes DC 37 is picking up the heat on a campaign to ensure public and safety-net hospitals are sufficiently funded.

The group's immediate goal is to convince Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign legislation that would create a true definition of safety-net hospitals. Over the long term, the group is committed to advocating for the financial security of the hospitals.

The group has created an online petition addressed to the governor for activists to express their support for strong health-care services and to urge him to sign the legislation.

Under the current formula, public and non-public safety net hospitals do not receive the appropriate level of funding they need for Medicaid and uninsured patients.

The city's public hospital system cares for nearly 60 percent of all of the uninsured patients in the state, yet it is only guaranteed 3 percent of the $3.5 billion that Albany spends annually on hospital care for those patients.

"The safety-net hospitals - both public and private - have been the mainstay of coverage for Medicaid and uninsured people, but they have been shorted in terms of reimbursement," said health-care advocate Judy Wessler, the former director of the Commission on the Public's Health. The safety-net bill addresses that inequity by calling for the state to distribute funds according to the actual percentage of Medicaid and uninsured patient care rather than criteria that isn't based on direct care.

Budget crisis

The safety net bill must be signed by the end of the year. If Cuomo fails to approve it, the state Legislature would have to reconsider the safety-net legislation next year.

"Because of the restructuring that is happening in our nation's health-care system and the uncertainty about the level of funding by the federal government, our union must be very active in the fight to protect services at Health + Hospitals," said Henry Garrido, executive director of District Council 37.

Following a nationwide trend, NYC Health + Hospitals is planning to move away from the hospital-based model of health-care delivery. In the coming years, NYC H+H expects to set up community health-care clinics while reducing in-patient hospital care.

Currently facing a $1.86 billion shortfall by 2020, the system is likely to face additional financial pressure as the federal government reduces funding of public-sector health-care institutions like NYC H+H while expanding Obamacare. The federal government anticipates fewer funds will be needed for supplemental payments for the uninsured as patients get picked up by Obamacare plans.

The union has more than 18,000 members who work at H+H. DC 37 is working closely with the health-care system to protect members' jobs and to provide them with retraining opportunities. Mayor Bill de Blasio has pledged to avoid layoffs as the restructuring occurs.

In the coming weeks, the union will be focused on encouraging members to participate in the petition campaign.

Along with DC 37, the core members of the safety net coalition include the New York State Nurses Association, the Doctors Council, CWA Local 1180, the Committee of Interns and Residents, the Commission on the Public's Health, and the New York Immigration Coalition.

The federal government provides supplemental funds through "Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH)" payments. Recently, the coalition, along with federal, state and local officials, successfully advocated for an advance payment of $475 million needed in November.

Health-care advocates are also very concerned about $2 billion in DSH cuts set for 2018 across the country. The federal government plans to implement the cuts because it expects the need for the DSH funding stream will decrease as Obamacare covers more people.

Working with its national union, the American Federation of State, Country and Municipal Employees, DC 37 hopes to prevent or at least reduce the cuts. Around the country, Obamacare has picked up millions of people.

"The good thing is that fewer patients need charity care as they receive coverage through the Affordable Care Act," said DC 37 Assistant Associate Director Jahmila Joseph. "The challenge is that city's public hospitals continue to service a very large number of immigrants and uninsured people" without adequate funding.

Sign the petition!

To become active in the campaign to support public hospitals and safety-net hospitals, go to the DC 37 website at www.dc37.net.

The website will direct you to the section on the change.org website, which has posted the online petition to urge Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign legislation to change the state's formula for allocating funds to public hospitals and safety-net hospitals.

"We urge you to take action to ensure adequate funding for our critical hospitals by signing the new Enhanced Safety Net Hospital bill (A. 9476-A/S. 6948-A) into law," the petition says.

"For the first time, this bill would provide a definition for our most vulnerable hospitals, allowing us to create the opportunity for increased federal matching funds and to prioritize state and federal aid to those to these hospitals that truly treat the largest number of uninsured patients and working families on Medicaid."

Thousands have already signed the petition. Signers are encouraged to publicize the petition through Facebook, Twitter and email.