The senator’s pledge, which came Friday during his stop at Lowville, N.Y.-based Lewis County General Hospital, centers around CMS changing the calculation formula used to determine Medicaid and Medicare funding rates for rural hospitals designated as sole community or Medicare dependent facilities, according to the report.
Sen. Schumer did not raise any concerns specific to that change, the report notes, but he did express concerns about CMS making the change retroactive to 2011 and sending out letters demanding repayments from many hospitals.
That includes Massena (N.Y.) Memorial Hospital, which was told it owed $1.6 million, and to pay the amount by a certain time or it would be charged 9.635 percent interest. In a previous Watertown Daily Times report, MMH’s CFO, Patrick Facteau, said the hospital worked out a six-month payback schedule with federal officials as MHH continues to see how they can fight the repayment.
Overall, the change could result in the forced payback of $15 million to $20 million from a number of New York hospitals, including Massena and Lowville hospitals, as well as Carthage Area Hospital, Gouverneur Hospital, Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center in Ogdensburg, Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake and Oswego Hospital, Sen. Schumer said, according to Mr. Virkler’s report.
The senator promised try his best to try to rectify the situation, according to the report.
But Sen. Schumer is not the only party involved in the fight. Also involved are the Healthcare Association of New York State and the Iroquois Healthcare Association.
“These retroactive cuts will have a major impact on upstate’s rural providers who are already facing financial challenges,” Iroquois Healthcare President Gary J. Fitzgerald said in a statement, according to Mr. Virkler’s report. “We are thankful that Sen. Schumer is addressing this issue and is committed to the financial stability of New York’s rural hospitals.”
CMS did not immidiately respond to a request for comment.
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