New York Gov. Kathy Hochul plans to create more mental healthcare capacity as part of the state's $1 billion investment in mental healthcare. Her plan not only involves creating new access, but restoring it in hospitals.
The governor earmarked $1 billion for a statewide mental healthcare plan in the state's fiscal year 2024 budget. One tenet of the plan is for approximately 500 inpatient psychiatric beds at community hospitals that were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic to be restored into service by 2024.
"To my friends in the hospital community, those of you who have listened and followed this, I thank you," the governor said in an Oct. 12 news briefing. "The rest of you, you are on notice. I said there will be fines. There will be fines if you don't bring these back online in the timetable we are telling you."
New legislation allows the state to fine community hospitals up to $2,000 per violation per day for failing to comply with the number of psychiatric beds outlined in their operating certificate. No fines have yet been imposed.
More than 1,000 inpatient psychiatric beds were removed across New York during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As of February, approximately 850 of the beds, including 450 in New York City, remained closed.
In January, the state issued letters to 50 hospitals across the state with a February deadline to either re-open all non-operational licensed inpatient psychiatric beds or submit a plan to bring all non-operational inpatient beds online by April 1, 2023. Hundreds of beds were expected to miss the deadlines issued.
Ms. Hochul expressed impatience with hospitals that have not yet restored capacity, which she did not name.
"I can't tell someone that I saw this morning in our subway, 'I know you want to get help, you have listened to our SOS teams, you trust them, you're ready to go. But, oh, the hospital's taking too long to bring it back online,'" the governor said. "Doesn't work for me. Work for any of you? No. We're done. We're done with excuses."