NUMC-NIFA accusations fly amid state budget talks

Daily Point

NIFA fights back against NUMC

In the waning days of budget negotiations in Albany, Nassau University Medical Center has continued to wage a battle against state lawmakers, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Richard Kessel, the chairman of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, Nassau County’s fiscal watchdog.

In a video posted to social media this week, NUMC accuses Albany of "playing games with the funding for Nassau University Medical Center."

"With every move they make, they put more and more Nassau County residents at risk of losing support from the only public safety net hospital in Nassau County," the video said.

NUMC’s campaign comes as budget negotiations enter what might be their final days. NUMC officials have sought additional funds from the state, while state officials have suggested changes to the so-called "temporary operator" statute that could be invoked for facilities "experiencing serious financial instability." Most likely, that is directed at NUMC.

“The state has done everything it possibly could to work collaboratively with Nassau County and NUMC leadership,” Hochul spokesman Gordon Tepper told The Point Monday. “They are wasting money on ridiculous public relations campaigns and the state is saying repeatedly we need to focus on what really matters – patient care and the financial health of the hospital.”

The back and forth has emerged as NUMC continues a pair of lawsuits against NIFA and New York State over $1 billion in funding the hospital says it is owed for so-called disproportionate share hospital payments, or DSH — funds received by hospitals that treat low-income patients.

But last week, NIFA fought back against NUMC’s efforts, seeking to dismiss the ongoing lawsuit NUMC filed against the authority last year.

And in tandem with a legal filing in Nassau State Supreme Court, Kessel and NIFA Vice Chairman Rory Lancman came out swinging, with Kessel calling the NUMC lawsuit "frivolous litigation."

"NHCC is ailing and the only medicine its leadership can prescribe is to file vexatious lawsuits in the desperate hope to pressure the State into providing funding without requiring reforms," Kessel said.

NUMC has claimed that half of its disproportionate share payment came through a "ruse to fool the federal government," in which the hospital initially sent the funds to Nassau County, which then sent them to the state, which in turn sent the money back to NUMC. The hospital has argued that NIFA should have known about the situation and stopped it.

NIFA’s motion to dismiss suggests multiple reasons. Primarily, NIFA said NUMC’s claims fail because state law makes Nassau County or the hospital’s public benefit corporation responsible for the payments — not the state. NIFA also argues that the payment structure NUMC is suing over is permitted by federal law — and was something to which the hospital agreed.

In related exhibits, NIFA included sworn statements from former NUMC chief executive Anthony Boutin and from former NUMC finance director John Pavuk that say hospital officials knew about, approved of and recognized the legality of the payment system over which NUMC Is now suing.

In a statement, NUMC’s outside attorney Steve Cohen, with Pollock Cohen LLP, said NIFA’s perspective is "nonsensical."

"Sadly, NIFA again makes clear its true mission is political — to carry the water of the governor and cover up the State’s corruption," Cohen wrote. "After misrepresenting NUMC’s financial position for years, they are doubling down on an agenda that will lead Nassau County into a healthcare crisis instead of standing up for taxpayers and patients."

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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Quick Points

The hit they knew was coming

• Long Island towns and cities have had to hike budgets to pay for pension sweeteners passed by state legislators who were warned about that very possibility. It’s a lot easier to pass something that raises costs when you’re not the one who has to pay for it.
• Facing growing criticism for helping Republicans pass a budget bill last week, Sen. Chuck Schumer says he’s ramping up the fight against President Donald Trump’s push for power. That might be the least surprising recent development in Washington.
• Brookhaven Town has built a tunnel under a road in Middle Island to guarantee safe passage for vernal frogs that were being killed by cars as they tried to cross over the road. Hopefully, Long Island officials are working on ways to make the roads safer for humans, too.
• Three people were shot dead and 15 were injured in a fight in a park in New Mexico. It was barely a blip in the national news cycle.
• U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said of the war between Ukraine and Russia, "It’s just never as black and white as people want to portray. So there are grievances on both sides." He’s not saying those grievances are equal, is he?
• Nearly six in 10 Long Islanders went without health care at least once in the prior year because they couldn’t afford it, a new survey found. Nearly 10 in 10 Long Islanders would not be surprised by that stat.

— Michael Dobie michael.dobie@newsday.com

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