Thousands of hospital and nursing home workers—stretching from Buffalo to Long Island to the North County—will rally outside their institutions on Thursday, calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to reverse $1 billion dollars in proposed budget cuts and to properly fund Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals and nursing homes, a lifeline for over 7 million New Yorkers.

LOCATIONS/TIMES FOR PRESS AVAILABILITY:

Buffalo area:

 

• Getzville – 10:00 AM – Weinberg Campus, 2700 North Forest Rd, Getzville, NY 14068
• Buffalo – 12 Noon – Buffalo General Medical Center, Swift Auditorium, 100 High St, Buffalo, NY 14203

 

Rochester area:

• 10:30 AM – The Pearl Nursing Center, 1335 Portland Ave, Rochester, NY 14621
• 12 Noon – Orleans Community Health, 200 Ohio St, Medina NY 14103

 

Long Island:

• New Hyde Park – 12:15-1:15pm, Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care & Rehabilitation, 271-11 76th Avenue, New Hyde Park, NY 11040
• Amityville – 12:15-1:15pm, Massapequa Center Rehabilitation & Nursing, 101 Louden Ave. Amityville, New York 11701

Capitol Region:

 

• Gloversville – 11:15-11:45AM, Nathan Littauer Hospital, 99 East Main St, Gloversville NY 12078

Hudson Valley:

• Suffern – 12 Noon to 12:30PM, Good Samaritan Hospital, 255 Lafayette Ave, Suffern NY 10901

Syracuse:

• 12 Noon – Crouse Hospital (Small Cafeteria), 736 Irving Ave, Syracuse, NY 13210

New York City:

·         Manhattan – 12:15-1pm, NY Presbyterian, 177 Ft. Washington Ave, New York, NY 10032

·         Brooklyn – 12:30-1pm Brookdale Hospital 1 Brookdale Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11212

·         Bronx – 12:15-1pm – St. Barnabas Hospital, 4422 3rd Ave., Bronx, NY 10457

·         Queens – 12:15-1pm Jamaica Hospital, 8900 Van Wyck Expressway, Jamaica NY 11418

 

WHY:

Over 7 million New Yorkers rely on Medicaid for their health insurance, including half of the state’s children and people with disabilities.  Yet New York’s Medicaid program reimburses doctors and providers 30% less than the actual cost of their care.  This shortfall has pushed hospitals and nursing homes across the state to the financial brink, especially those serving low-income communities with high Medicaid enrollment.  Chronic Medicaid underfunding has caused Recent and announced hospital closures include Mt. Sinai Beth Israel, Eastern Niagara, OBH Kingsbrook, and SUNY Downstate.

The Medicaid reimbursement disparity exacerbates inequities in healthcare:

• People of color are twice as likely to be on Medicaid, where their care is funded just 70 cents on the dollar.

• Some two-thirds of NY seniors who rely on nursing home care are enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program.

• Half of New York hospitals have reported reducing and/or eliminating health services due to short staffing.

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

Rather than close the Medicaid funding gap and address this crisis, Gov. Hochul is seeking up to $1 billion in health care cuts, including hundreds of millions in unspecified cuts.  At a time when NYS 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.

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1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 450,000 nurses and caregivers throughout Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.

https://www.1199seiu.org/