Nine hospitals in New York state have been earmarked for closure by the state Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century. The long-awaited recommendations by the commission, which was charged with “rightsizing institutions” to relieve the financial crisis faced by the state’s hospitals, will become law unless Gov. George Pataki or the state legislature rejects the entire proposal. In addition to closing nine hospitals--including five in New York City--the commission recommended that 48 others merge, cut beds, or become clinics or outpatient facilities. The commission said its recommendations will save $806 million annually in savings to Medicaid and other payers, and the total estimated benefit to providers will be around $721 million annually. After eight years of the state’s hospitals losing money, the commission said it had to “act decisively” to prevent additional hospital bankruptcies. “These recommendations will help to avoid future calamities that would further destabilize the system and compromise patient care,” said David Sandman, executive director of the commission.
The New York Times reports that some of the commission’s recommendations will prove to be challenging, such as merging two private hospitals or merging a private hospital with a state hospital. Kenneth E. Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, told the Times that hospitals will have to offer fewer services as a result of the recommendations. “The level of restructuring, which goes beyond closure--the size of the restructuring is astronomical,” he said. “The amount of money this will pull out of medical spending in New York will be in the billions. There is going to be service inadequacy and some real difficulty for hospitals.” Read the executive summary.
