Starting in October, upstate New York hospitals will begin receiving nearly $1 billion more annually thanks to a modification of the Medicare Wage index.
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said in an Aug. 2 news release that upstate hospitals historically received less than the true cost of providing healthcare for the areas they served. He said that since the 1980s, hospitals in the Albany area have received only 86 percent of what the average hospital receives to account for wages, "which is not reflective of the true wages and labor market in Albany."
CMS' fiscal year 2024 Inpatient Prospective Payment System now increases to 122 percent of what the average hospital receives in wage adjustments, "finally acknowledging that the region needs much higher than average wages to compete and bring in the best providers," the release said.
Overall, the rule change is expected to bring in an estimated $967 million annually in federal funding for upstate hospitals.
Here is how the money will be divided by region:
- Finger Lakes & Rochester: $242.6M
- Capital Region: $192.8M
- Western NY: $170.1M
- Central NY: $121.4M
- Southern Tier: $111.2M
- Mohawk Valley: $87.2M
- North Country: $41.7M