Upstate hospitals can expect a $1 billion increase in annual federal Medicare payments after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) adjusted the Medicare wage index. It represents one of the “biggest shots in the arm” for federal funding upstate New York hospitals have seen in decades, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) […]
Upstate hospitals can expect a $1 billion increase in annual federal Medicare payments after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) adjusted the Medicare wage index.
It represents one of the “biggest shots in the arm” for federal funding upstate New York hospitals have seen in decades, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) announced Aug. 2.
The additional funding totals more than $121 million for Central New York hospitals; over $87 million for hospitals in the Mohawk Valley; more than $111 million for Southern Tier hospitals; and nearly $42 million for hospitals in the North Country, Schumer’s office said.
The senator explained that the Medicare wage index rate is used to determine how much money the U.S. government pays hospitals for labor costs when they treat Medicare patients. Each metro area is assigned a rate that dictates whether they receive more or less than the national average for health-care labor costs. However, “historically” hospitals in upstate New York had received less than the true cost of providing health care for the areas they served.
“For years, our hardworking healthcare providers have faced unfairly low Medicare payments, receiving cents on the dollar for the care they provide, but now after over a decade of fighting I am proud to announce I have secured the rules change which will bring nearly $1 billion every single year to hospitals across Upstate NY,” Schumer contended. “Years from now, we will look back at today as a pivotal moment for our Upstate New York hospitals. From Albany to Buffalo, and Binghamton to Watertown, hospitals big and small, in rural and urban areas, will finally get the support and full reimbursements they have long deserved and have been denied for too long.”
Schumer’s news release included a chart detailing the estimated increase in Medicare wage index payments for hospitals by region with the finalized rule, along with charts for specific hospitals in each region.
