Budget Issues Could Lead to Closure of 3 Brooklyn Hospitals

Three Brooklyn, N.Y., hospitals could close soon unless CMS approves the state's request to reinvest federal healthcare funding, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said yesterday during his annual budget address, according to a New York Daily News report.

Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, Interfaith Medical Center and Long Island College Hospital could shut their doors if HHS doesn't approve the state's request to reallocate $10 billion of $17 billion in federal funds New York anticipates saving through Medicaid reform, the governor said, according to the report.

Mr. Cuomo — who included a $1.2 billion capital program for hospitals in financial distress in his budget — said the hospitals' struggles "defy state solution" and called on HHS to approve the state's waiver as soon as possible, according to the report.

Interfaith has experienced financial problems on-and-off for decades, and hospital officials decided to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2012 when they found themselves unable to afford malpractice insurance. Last month, the hospital recently received three months of emergency funding from the New York State Department of Health. Prior to that, state and hospital officials had said Interfaith would begin shutting down Jan. 7 and close completely on Jan. 26.

LICH — part of State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn — has been on the verge of closing for about a year. Earlier this month, Brooklyn Hospital Center, a safety-net hospital two miles away from LICH, partnered with a private equity firm to make a bid on LICH. Brooklyn Hospital plans to close LICH as a full-service hospital and turn it into an urgent care center and freestanding emergency department. Some of the hospital's property would also be converted into mixed-income housing.

Similarly, Brookdale has been close to bankruptcy for years. According to a February 2013 report, the hospital owed $6.4 million in unpaid water bills at the time, dating back to 2006.

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