U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announces potential funding increase for NYS hospitals (May 5, 2023)

Changes to Medicare payments could result in Chautauqua County hospitals receiving $14.1 million more a year in federal funding.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rules change could have an estimated annual nearly $1 billion impact for increased payments to upstate New York hospitals.

He explained that CMS proposes to amend the Medicare formula for hospitals, which for years have received less than the national average for the services they provide.

The estimated increases for hospitals in the county include UPMC Chautauqua receiving an additional $9,836,225; Brooks-TLC Hospital System receiving $3,444,566; and Westfield Memorial Hospital receiving an additional $850,340.

Schumer said this readjusted number will equate to much better healthcare in the state, “It will mean the ability to have more doctors to be attracted to our hospitals. More nurses, we’ve heard about the shortages of doctors and nurses, but they will be able to be there. It’s going to mean lower waiting times for people. It’s going to mean you’re going to be able to get an appointment more quickly. The amount of money going to our hospitals is well-deserved, is so large that just about every aspect of healthcare will improve.”

Schumer said he’s optimistic the change will be approved in August 2023. He added that hospitals would continue to receive these additional amounts each year and that there are no restrictions on how the funding can be used.

The Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services (CCDHHS), Brooks-TLC Hospital System, Inc., UPMC Chautauqua and Allegheny Health Network Westfield were part of a greater Chautauqua County Community Health Planning Team that completed the plan.

The Community Health Assessment is done in conjunction with the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) Prevention Agenda.

The assessment researched data trends in Chautauqua County, compared data trends across New York State, and provided a plan for the upcoming years to improve public health concerns.

The top four family and/or community health issues identified as concerns in Chautauqua County’s Health Survey were:

– Medical health (heart disease – high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack; diabetes; obesity; cancer; asthma; chronic lung disease; chronic pain management; etc. (75.55%),
– Mental health (stress; anxiety; depression; suicide; etc.) (66.52%),
– Environmental safety (food/water, neighborhood; roadway; safe and clean housing; etc. (56.75%),
– And drug/alcohol use disorders (49.45%).

The top four suggestions that might help communities make healthy choices and changes identified in the Community Health Survey were:

– Having groups in the community that encourage healthy habits (physical activity, nutrition, stress reduction, diabetes prevention, fall prevention, quitting tobacco/nicotine, etc. (53.48%),
– Having safe areas to play and exercise in the community (51.86%),
– Having more healthy food choices at local convenience stores (48.79%),
– And getting information about how to make healthy changes from social media, internet, newspapers and TV (44.05%).

All hospitals and the County Health and Human Services Department have agreed to collaborate to address the Prevent Chronic Diseases priority area with a focus on Tobacco Prevention. They also plan to work to decrease the prevalence of tobacco use by adolescents.

The plan states they also will work collaboratively with the Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene in the area of Mental and Substance Use Disorders to prevent opioid deaths by increasing the availability and accessibility of Narcan.

Additionally, the County Health Department’s Environmental division will work to Promote a Healthy and Safe Environment by increasing the number of homes tested for radon and increasing educational efforts to increase blood lead testing rates.

And under the priority of “Promoting Healthy Women, Infants and Children” the group will focus on addressing the areas of perinatal and infant health (by increasing breastfeeding) and maternal and women’s health by enhancing collaboration with other programs, providers, agencies, and community members to address key social determinants of health that impact the health of women, infants, children, and families across the life course

More information about the New York State Prevention Agenda can be found at https://www.health.ny.gov/prevention/prevention_agenda/2019-2024/.

You can find the full 2022-2024 Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan on Chautauqua County’s website: https://chqgov.com/health-and-human-services/Annual-Reports.