SENATE TO RESTORE NURSING HOME FUNDS

Bruno also announces $10 Million Nurse Loan Forgiveness Program

Wednesday, March 7, 2001

In a speech to the Health Care Association of New York State today, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno announced that the Senate Majority is recommending the restoration of $130 million in state assistance to nursing homes in the 2001-2002 state budget. The restoration of state assistance would result in a total of $330 million in federal, state and local aid to nursing homes.

"Nursing homes provide a vital health care service for our rapidly growing senior citizen population and provide peace of mind to their families who know their loved ones are getting the care they need," Senator Bruno said. "The impact of the proposed reduction in state assistance to nursing homes would have resulted in almost tripling the total reduction in financial support when you factor in federal and local Medicaid assistance that is tied to state aid."

Proposed reductions in state assistance would have: reduced assistance to facilities with more than 300 beds; reduced the amount of reimbursement to facilities that have Medicaid and Non-Medicaid patients; eliminated aid increases tied to inflation; and reduced assistance to proprietary nursing homes.

Senator Bruno said the Senate would restore the total dollar amount of the Medicaid reductions, but not necessarily in the same manner in which funding was reduced. The Senate plans to use part of the restored funds to address workforce shortage issues faced by nursing homes and other health care facilities.

In another effort to help health care facilities deal with the critical workforce shortage, Senator Bruno announced that the Senate is proposing a $10 million loan forgiveness program for nurses. "Nurses are often the front line in health care but we need to attract more people into the profession," Senator Bruno said. "Simply throwing money at the problem in the form of higher salaries isn't enough. We need to provide creative incentives to entice more people to become nurses."

In his speech, Senator Bruno said the Senate Budget Resolution will also include $20 million to assist with the restructuring of hospitals in financial crisis so they can develop a plan to improve their financial condition.

"Hospitals in New York State are facing very difficult times," Senator Kemp Hannon (R, Garden City), Chairman of the Senate Health Committee, said. "Technological advances in medicine are increasing at a rapid rate as does the cost of providing new medical services and people expect more from their health care providers and facilities than ever before. However, many hospitals are facing very difficult economic times. The recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, and repeated warnings from the hospital association of additional imminent hospital financial crises, demonstrate the need for a coordinated, statewide response to address this issue."

The recommendations will be included in the Senate Budget Resolution which will be acted on later this month.

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