Hundreds of workers hospital sector and health throughout the Big Apple and the state of New York – on Thursday, February 22 – they left aside their lunch hour and instead of eating they staged simultaneous demonstrations in different counties to demand the Hochul Administration and to the state Legislature, that instead of cutting funds to medical care, such as Medicaid, they ensure more resources that guarantee well-being for all communities.
Nurses, caregiver assistants and doctors stressed that throughout New York, although more than 7 million New Yorkers rely on Medicaid for their health insurance, including half of children and people with disabilities, New York only reimburses doctors and providers. 30% less than the real cost of care, which affects the operation of hospital centers. The call also went to help those institutions end deficits that have stretched hospitals and nursing homes to the financial limit, especially in low-income communities with high Medicaid enrollment.
During the day of protest, they stressed that due to the lack of support, hospitals like Mt. Sinai Beth Israel, Eastern Niagara, OBH Kingsbrook y SUNY Downstatehave suffered the consequences and that the disparity in Medicaid reimbursements exacerbates inequalities in health care, with people of color being twice as likely to receive Medicaid, where their care is funded for only 70 cents on the dollar.
Shades Blue, Senior Patient Access Representative Wyckoff Heights Medical Centerin it Brooklyn Countyasked the state president not to continue leaving those most in need behind and to understand that without sufficient investments, there will be a negative impact on the medical care of vulnerable communities.
“I have lived and worked in this community for years and know how invaluable safety net hospitals are. “We need to ensure our community has the resources to survive, but our hospital constantly struggles with insufficient Medicaid funding from the state,” the worker said.
David Kleczkowski, primary caregiver, declared himself very concerned and stated that the plan to cut funds by more than $1 billion instead of injecting more resources to close the Medicaid funding gap will not solve the health care crisis in the state.
“My coworkers and I are here to remind Governor Hochul and the Legislature that our hospitals and nursing homes are struggling and this is having a profound effect on the delivery of care,” the nurse said. “It doesn’t make sense to us since the state has a $40 billion reserve fund. The Legislature must make New Yorkers’ health care a priority and restore funding to the budget. Is there anything more important than the health and safety of our communities?”
Protesters also mentioned that half of New York’s hospitals have reported that they have reduced and/or eliminated health services due to staffing shortages and that women covered by Medicaid represented the 61% of deaths associated with pregnancy in 2018according to figures from the New York Department of Health itself from 2022, which is highly worrying.
“Our community cannot travel to the big city and we need more community hospitals available. Without Medicaid funding, this will not happen because small hospitals are closing and cannot stay open. “They don’t have money to finance the facilities,” he said. Kay Ward, who works at Orleans Community Health in Medina, New York. “I don’t want to see our little hospital closed; It is necessary in our community.”
At the time of going to press, the Hochul Administration did not refer to the claims and demonstrations.
2024-02-24 11:44:00
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