Public Employee Press


Petitions for Cuomo to sign bill
Union mobilizes for better hospital funding

The union has initiated a campaign to urge Gov. Andrew Cuomo to approve legislation for a more equitable funding formula for public hospitals.

In June, Albany legislators agreed on a bill that addresses the state's inequitable funding for public and safety net hospitals. At an annual Harlem Week event on Aug. 21, DC 37 activists collected 500 signatures for a petition requesting the governor approve the bill.

This month, union activists will be visiting hospitals and setting up meetings with members and organizing a petition drive to urge the governor to sign off on the legislation.

"Taking our campaign to the hospitals is a priority," said DC 37 Organizing Director Barbara Terrelonge. DC 37 represents 18,000 employees at NYC Health + Hospitals.

The legislation creates a true definition of a safety net hospital. Increased rates for hospitals that meet the new safety net criteria will be able to be negotiated in discussions on the 2017 state budget.

DC 37 and a coalition of labor unions have been advocating for legislation to change the state's unfair funding formula and make sure New York City Health + Hospitals receives its fair share. The network of public hospitals provides services for 60 percent of the indigent and uninsured patients in the state, but only receives 3 percent of the $3.5 billion Albany allocates for those patients.

"Until we are able to ensure the proper funding for our public hospitals, which provide services to the city's most vulnerable, we are not going to be able to maintain a modern, vital system of health care for the families of the this city," DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido said.

The passage of the bill would open the door for health-care advocates to push for more Medicaid funding for the hospitals, particularly the network of public hospitals that treat the most Medicaid patients.

New York City Health + Hospitals serves 1.2 million New Yorkers annually. It is the largest public hospital system in the country, serving as a safety net for uninsured New Yorkers. In addition, the system handles nearly one-third of the emergency visits in the city, and it plays a leading role in responding to health crises like the Ebola outbreak and disasters like the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"The bill is important for creating a mechanism to deliver aid to truly needy hospitals such as New York City Health + Hospitals, other public hospitals with high volumes of Medicaid and uninsured patients, and many rural hospitals," explained Assembly member Richard Gottfried, who sponsored the legislation and chairs the state health committee.

— Alfredo Alvarado