POLITICS
HEALTHCARE JUSTICE NOW
It’s time to demand New York State stop selling Medicaid short. Every single week since the start of the year, 1199 members from all over New York State have been making the trip to Albany to deliver one clear message to the Governor: “It’s raining now!” All the way from Buffalo to the eastern tip of Long Island, members have been confronting their legislators with the stark realities of short-staffing and service line cuts in their institutions, which are getting in the way of delivering the quality care that all New Yorkers deserve. 1199ers know that a small portion of the state’s unprecedented reserves could close the Medicaid funding gap, save struggling hospitals, and protect low-income seniors, children, families and people with disabilities. So, they are demanding that New York Governor Kathy Hochul fund Medicaid to protect the most vulnerable in the state who need help right now. Shameka Burnette-Mathews traveled all the way from Niagara Falls with fellow members from Erie, Chautauqua and Niagara counties to give her elected representatives a first-hand account of what the Medicaid gap means in practice. Burnette-Matthews, an 1199 Delegate and Medical Secretary at Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, told them, “Even for those patients who are not on Medicaid, the funding gap affects the services the hospital can offer to everyone, including those with private insurance “It wouldn’t take away from anything else,” she said. “We know that local representatives in Western New York agree. It is a matter of what they tell the Governor when they are 18
January-February 2024
in the big room.” Medicaid equity is a civil rights issue. Over seven million New Yorkers rely on the services it funds—the majority of whom come from Black and Latino communities. But at the moment, New York State is reimbursing hospitals 30 percent less than the actual cost of needed care. This Medicaid funding gap endangers healthcare providers and the low-income patients who rely on them. The impact of COVID has only made matters worse, with hospitals across New York State struggling more than ever. Many have already slashed maternity care and mental health services, and dozens teeter on the financial brink. Last year, both Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in Brooklyn and Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan announced that they were closing services. Eastern Niagara Hospital in Western New York already closed its doors last June. The New York State Office of Mental Health has also reported the closure of 850 inpatient psychiatric beds across the State. Chronic underfunding of psychiatric services makes operating and staffing these services extremely difficult. Over the past 15 years, nearly 30 maternity units have shut down or reduced services. Sandra Diaz an 1199 Delegate and CNA at the Cabrini nursing home in Dobbs Ferry, has personal experience of what reducing maternity care means. “With the state paying out 30 percent less than what care actually costs, it means that there are
1199ers from all over New York State holding press conferences and lobbying their elected officials for Medicaid equity. Photos continue on p. 20.
“My community is suffering because the State of New York refuses to pay the full cost of care for Medicaid patients while it sits on massive reserves that could be saving lives.” – Sandra Diaz, an 1199 Delegate and CNA at the Cabrini nursing home in Dobbs Ferry.
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