The New York state legislature hopes to update criteria for safety-net hospital designation, ensuring safety-net hospitals and their patients receive fair Medicaid funding.
The legislature passed a bill in March that would change the way Medicaid funding is distributed between state hospitals. Legislators believe the change will give struggling, rural and critical access hospitals greater portions of the Medicaid pie.
To become a designated safety-net hospital, the bill stipulates:
- A minimum 50 percent of patients must be on Medicaid or uninsured.
- A minimum 40 percent of inpatient discharges must be on Medicaid.
- No more than 25 percent of inpatient discharges can have commercial insurance.
- The hospital must belong to a public health system or must be a federally designated critical access or community hospital.
The bill is under review by counsel's office before it's presented to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
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