Medicaid cuts could ‘decimate’ safety net hospitals all over Brooklyn
Cuomo tells Congress: ‘Cancel those cuts now’
On Oct. 1, Brooklyn’s public and safety net hospitals could be hit with potentially crippling cuts to Medicaid payments, Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned on Tuesday.
Unless Congress rescinds the scheduled cuts, hospitals across the state serving low- income and uninsured patients could go into financial shock, with Brooklyn’s most vulnerable hospitals like Kings County, Interfaith Medical Center and SUNY Downstate being among the biggest losers.
Cuomo called on Congress to immediately rescind the federal government’s planned cuts in Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments. DSH payments reimburse hospitals for uncompensated health care costs. The Oct. 1 cuts would reduce DSH payments by one third. The cuts are not a one-time issue, since proposed cuts grow in future years.