Thousands of hospital and nursing home workers—stretching from Long Island to Buffalo—will rally outside their institutions on Thursday afternoon, calling on Governor Hochul to reverse $1 billion dollars in proposed budget cuts and to properly fund Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals and nursing homes, a lifeline for over seven million New Yorkers. 

LOCATIONS/TIMES FOR PRESS AVAILABILITY:

New York City

Manhattan: 12:15-1 pm, NY-Presbyterian, 177 Ft. Washington Ave, New York, NY 10032 

Brooklyn: 12:30-1 pm, Brookdale Hospital 1 Brookdale Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11212
                   12:30-1:30 pm, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center 374 Stockholm St, Brooklyn, NY 11237

Bronx: 12:15-1 pm, St. Barnabas Hospital, 4422 3rd Ave., Bronx, NY 10457

Queens: 12:15-1 pm, Jamaica Hospital, 8900 Van Wyck Expressway, Jamaica NY 11418

Long Island

New Hyde Park: 12:15-1:15 pm, Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care & Rehabilitation, 271-11 76th Avenue, New Hyde Park, NY 11040

Amityville: 12:15-1:15 pm, Massapequa Center Rehabilitation & Nursing, 101 Louden Ave., Amityville, New York 11701

Capitol Region

Gloversville: 11:15-11:45 am, Nathan Littauer Hospital, 99 East Main St, Gloversville NY 12078 

Hudson Valley

Suffern: 12 -12:30 pm, Good Samaritan Hospital, 255 Lafayette Ave, Suffern NY 10901 

Buffalo Area

Buffalo: 12 pm, Buffalo General Medical Center, Swift Auditorium, 100 High St, Buffalo, NY 14203 

Getzville: 10 am, Weinberg Campus, 2700 North Forest Rd, Getzville, NY 14068 

Rochester Area

10:30 am, The Pearl Nursing Center, 1335 Portland Ave, Rochester, NY 14621 

12 pm, Orleans Community Health, 200 Ohio St, Medina NY 14103 

Syracuse

12 pm, Crouse Hospital (Small Cafeteria), 736 Irving Ave, Syracuse, NY 13210 

WHY Over seven million New Yorkers rely on Medicaid for their health insurance, including half of the state’s children and people with disabilities. Yet New York’s Medicaid program reimburses doctors and providers 30% less than the actual cost of their care. This shortfall has pushed hospitals and nursing homes across the state to the financial brink, especially those serving low-income communities with high Medicaid enrollment. Chronic Medicaid underfunding has caused Recent and announced hospital closures include Mt. Sinai Beth Israel, Eastern Niagara, OBH Kingsbrook, and SUNY Downstate. 

The Medicaid reimbursement disparity exacerbates inequities in healthcare: 

• People of color are twice as likely to be on Medicaid, where their care is funded just 70 cents on the dollar. 

• Some two-thirds of New York seniors who rely on nursing home care are enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program. 

• Half of New York hospitals have reported reducing and/or eliminating health services due to short staffing. 

• Women covered by Medicaid accounted for 61% of pregnancy-associated deaths in 2018, according to a 2022 New York Department of Health report. 

Rather than close the Medicaid funding gap and address this crisis, Governor Hochul is seeking up to $1 billion in healthcare cuts, including hundreds of millions in unspecified cuts. At a time when New York state is sitting on a massive $40 billion reserve fund, the State should focus on a plan to end the Medicaid funding gap and fully fund care for the most vulnerable New Yorkers.