(ACROSS NEW YORK STATE) - Thousands of Hospital and Nursing Home Workers - stretching from Buffalo to Long Island to the North County - rallied near their institutions on Thursday (February 22nd), calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to reverse $1 billion in proposed budget cuts and to properly fund Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals and nursing homes - a lifeline for more than seven million New Yorkers.

Those New Yorkers rely on Medicaid for their health insurance, including half of the State’s children and people with disabilities, 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Workers East Representatives said. 

Yet, New York’s Medicaid Program reimburses Physicians and Providers 30% less than the actual cost of their care, they said. 

This shortfall has pushed hospitals and nursing homes across the State to the brink of financial ruin, especially those serving low-income communities with high Medicaid enrollment. 

Chronic Medicaid underfunding has caused a number of recent and announced hospital closures, including Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Eastern Niagara, OBH Kingsbrook and State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate.

The Medicaid reimbursement disparity exacerbates inequities in health care, especially with People of Color, who are twice as likely to be on Medicaid, where their care is funded just 70 cents on the dollar.

Some two-thirds of New York’s Seniors - who rely on nursing home care, are enrolled in the State’s Medicaid Program and half of New York hospitals have reported reducing and/or eliminating health services due to short staffing.

And Women covered by Medicaid accounted for 61% of pregnancy-associated deaths in 2018, according to a 2022 New York State Department of Health report.

Rather than close the Medicaid funding gap and address this crisis, Governor Hochul is seeking up to $1 billion in health care cuts, including hundreds of millions in unspecified cuts, Union Representatives said. 

At a time when New York State is sitting on a massive $40 billion reserve fund, the State should focus on a plan to end the Medicaid funding gap and fully fund care for the most vulnerable New Yorkers, they said.

Kay Ward, who is employed at Orleans Community Health in Medina in Western New York: “Our community can’t travel to the big city and we need more community hospitals available. Without Medicaid funding, it’s not going to happen because small hospitals are closing and can’t stay open. They don’t have money to fund the facilities.”

Thomas Bloomer, Vice-President of Human Resources at Orleans Community Health, also located in Medina: “Our Medicaid reimbursement is already lower than what it costs to provide care.  Supply costs continue to be on the rise and staffing shortages are a strain on our workforce.  Reducing Medicaid would further compromise our ability to recruit and retain Staff and provide the care our community deserves.”

Beth Hughes, who serves as President of the Buffalo General Medical Center, said: “There should be no debate - we need support to hire more Nurses, Aides, Social Workers, Therapists, Community Health Workers, Care Coordinators and other Health Care Workers to address and eliminate the socio-economic disparities in this community.  I can think of no more important of an issue for the State to consider but the health of everyone in (New York State) and we stand ready to partner to protect investments in health care and access for the patients and families that we serve.”

1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East - whose mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all, is the largest and fastest-growing Health Care Union in America and represents more than 450,000 Nurses and Caregivers in the States of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Florida, and in Washington, D.C.

Photo Courtesy Of 1199 SEIU.