New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has signed on healthcare consulting firm Manatt Health to stabilize the city's financially struggling public hospital system, NYC Health + Hospitals, according to Politico New York.
Manatt Health, a division of law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, aims to determine whether NYC Health + Hospitals can benefit from state reforms and national trends, despite impending federal cuts. The public hospital system, which serves a primarily Medicaid population, is facing a multi-billion dollar deficit, according to the report.
Mayor de Blasio said he would provide an additional $337 million to the more than $700 million the city intends to give the hospital next year. However, this extra funding won't solve the system's long-term problems. The system's deficit is expected to double to nearly $2 billion over the next three years, a recent state comptroller's report says, according to Politico.
Ram Raju, MD, president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals, defined his turnaround plan for the system last year. His plan centers on improving patient service to attract more consumers and enhance patient loyalty. Dr. Raju wants to increase the number of patients treated at the hospital system from 1.4 million in 2015 to 2 million by 2020, and double the number of people enrolled in MetroPlus, NYC Health + Hospital's insurance arm, according to the report. The system's hospitals and clinics will also increase their focus on population health management.
New York State's Medicaid redesign program is providing the hospital system with more than $1 billion to transform its delivery system. Manatt had previously signed a multi-million dollar contract with NYC Health + Hospitals for consulting services relating to the program.