SBM Leader William Wertheim, MD, MBA Meets with Long Island Delegation and Senate Leaders in Washington, D.C.
On Monday, October 27th Executive Vice President of Stony Brook Medicine William Wertheim traveled to Washington, DC to meet with Capitol Hill staff and Members of the Long Island Congressional delegation, both New York Senators and staff from the Senate Finance Committee.
Despite the federal government shutdown, Capitol Hill staff graciously made time to meet with Dr. Wertheim to discuss Stony Brook Medicine’s priority issues. The meetings focused on the vital importance of fixing how Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) reimbursement for safety net hospitals is calculated, the impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act which passed earlier this year, and other items like disruption of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants and new Trump Administration immigration policies.
Dr. Wertheim’s meetings helped illustrate how policies passed in Washington impact Stony Brook Medicine and the delivery of care to patients on Long Island. During the meetings, Dr. Wertheim highlighted problematic language included in The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (FY21 CAA or P.L. 116-260) that changed the Medicaid DSH formula by excluding Medicaid shortfalls from services provided to Medicaid-eligible beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medicare or other coverage. Under the new DSH calculation implemented in 2022, New York hospitals’ Medicaid DSH caps were reduced by an estimated 25%, costing Stony Brook University Hospital $53 million per year.
Stony Brook’s Federal Relations team has worked with Rep. LaLota and Sen. Gillibrand to introduce legislation that would fix the DSH calculation formula. The Save Our Safety Net Hospitals Act (H.R.5064 in the House and S.2743 in the Senate) was introduced by the legislators and their colleagues earlier this year and would restore the original Medicaid DSH payment formula that existed prior to the FY21 CAA. This would allow states to include low-income dual-eligible patients in their DSH calculations, allow states to spend unspent DSH payments from earlier years, and permit states to amend their Medicaid plans to implement these changes. The bipartisan, bicameral legislation is being considered as part of the so-called “Medicare Extenders” legislative package this fall.
During his meetings with Members and congressional staff, Dr. Wertheim stressed that the Sec. 203 language must be fixed this year to prevent continued cuts to Stony Brook Medicine’s Medicaid reimbursement. When added to Medicaid cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the DSH wind down, allowing the Sec. 203 cuts to continue would put Stony Brook’s ability to serve the most vulnerable populations at risk.
“We thank our NY federal delegation for their support of Stony Brook Medicine, specifically Rep. LaLota and Sen. Gillibrand for their tremendous leadership in leading and legislation that would reform the devastating Sec. 203 Medicaid DSH formula. Sec. 203 costs Stony Brook University Hospital $53 million in reduced revenue per year,” said Dr. Wertheim. “I am also thankful to Reps. Gillen and Garbarino for cosponsoring the legislation and to Sen. Schumer for his support on this issue. I am hopeful that the continued advocacy of our federal delegation and their colleagues will finally get this bill across the finish line later this year.”
During the whirlwind day of meetings, Wertheim met with Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY), and senior staff from Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-NY) offices as well as staff from the offices of Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and Congresswoman Laura Gillen (D-NY). In addition, Dr. Wertheim also met with both majority and minority staff from the powerful Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Special Committee on Aging. SBU’s Office of Federal Relations located in Washington, DC, coordinated these meetings and will continue to work closely with the New York congressional delegation, federal agencies, and the Administration to advocate for all of Stony Brook University and Stony Brook Medicine’s federal priorities.
