Brooklyn Hospital Center President and CEO Gary Terrinoni believes more safety-net hospitals will be forced to close unless CMS starts reimbursing them more for care provided to Medicaid and Medicare patients, he told Spectrum News NY1 Nov. 19.
Mr. Terrinoni told the station 75 percent of Brooklyn Hospital Center's patients are covered by Medicaid or Medicare, but CMS only pays 70 to 90 cents of each dollar the hospital spends on their care.
"Think about any other business where you're at 75 percent of your business and the reimbursement doesn't cover the cost of providing services," he said.
The pandemic drastically decreased the hospital's number of scheduled surgeries and emergency room visits, which Mr. Terrinoni told Spectrum News NY1 will probably cause a shortfall close to $100 million for 2020.
Brooklyn Hospital Center received $48 million in federal aid since the pandemic began, but it has to start making payments on a separate $41 million federal loan in April 2021, according to Spectrum News NY1.
Mr. Terrinoni told the station the hospital's financial situation is worsening each year and it's getting "tougher and tougher to break even." He said the hospital is cutting costs by canceling marketing contracts, as well as through retirements and attrition.