NUMC's battle to recoup over $1B from NY escalates to federal level

An ongoing battle between Nassau's only safety-net hospital and the county's state-appointed fiscal watchdog escalated to include federal officials who have been pressed to probe the hospital's Medicaid funding.

Four of New York's Republican members of the House of Representatives — Andrew Garbarino, Nick LaLota, Michael Lawler, of Pearl River, and Nicole Malliotakis, of Staten Island — are calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to review funding to Nassau University Medical Center to determine whether the funds are disbursed properly.

The Nassau Interim Finance Authority, which monitors the hospital's finances, followed lawmakers' request in February with a letter on Friday  disputing NUMC's claims, describing to these federal agencies the court battle over funding the hospital as "a baseless publicity stunt." 

 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officials did not respond to Newsday's questions about whether they would look into the matter. 

NUMC, located in East Meadow, is suing New York State, its Department of Health and NIFA. In the $1 billion lawsuit, NUMC officials allege the state has not properly disbursed federal funding known as the "Disproportionate Share Hospital" payments for more than a decade. NUMC is entitled to these payments for treating a significant number of low-income patients and they are used to help offset the cost of treating those who receive Medicaid or are uninsured when they cannot pay. 

The Republican House members, in their Feb. 21 letter, are asking for guidance on the "obligations of the state, including New York, to ensure timely and complete DSH [Disproportionate Share Hospital] payments to eligible hospitals like NUMC, regardless of litigation over funding mechanisms."   

"Any delay of disruption in these payments could have significant implications for the hospital's ability to sustain its vital services," they wrote. 

Of the Republican House members who signed onto the letter, Garbarino, of Bayport, represents part of Nassau County. LaLota, of Amityville, represents a district that lies solely in Suffolk, Lawler is from the lower Hudson Valley and Malliotakis from Staten Island.

Neither Garbarino nor LaLota responded directly to Newsday's questions, including what prompted them to write the letter and whether constituents or county Republican leadership asked for their help.

In an emailed statement through a spokesperson, Garbarino said NUMC serves "patients across Long Island."

"It is critical that NUMC can continue providing care to vulnerable individuals. Protecting access to health care for my constituents remains a top priority,” Garbarino said.

Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), both of whom cover more of Nassau County than Garbarino, declined to say whether they supported Republicans' call for a review of NUMC's DSH payments. 

In a phone call, Suozzi, who previously served as the Nassau County executive, said NUMC "is overtly politicized." 

"This effort now is the county refusing to take responsibility for the hospital — trying to use politics as a vehicle to distract blame away from them — and playing political games," Suozzi said. 

Gillen, in an emailed statement to Newsday, said "it’s critical that we have oversight of how funds are disbursed by the state and spent by the hospital. I’ve met with stakeholders at the local and state level who agree that both preserving NUMC’s mission and ensuring that Nassau County residents receive the transparency they deserve is paramount."

In the Friday letter signed by chairman Richard Kessel and vice chairman Rory Lancman, NIFA officials say the "entire premise" of the hospital's claim "and the suggestion implied in the Congress Members' letter" fails because the non-federal portion of the Medicaid payments were to come from the county and not the state, per state law. 

NIFA officials go on to tell federal agencies that Nassau Health Care Corp., the entity that runs NUMC, "has engaged in a deceitful public relations campaign wrongly accusing New York State officials of engaging in a decades-long conspiracy to defraud NHCC, when, in reality, NHCC has been misleading the courts and the public with its meritless lawsuits." 

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.