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HEALTHCARE CRISIS IN BROOKLYN: 1000'S OF ELIGIBLE BROOKLYNITES LOSE MEDICAID BENEFITS UNDERMINING FINANCIAL HEALTH OF BROOKLYN'S HOSPITALS

Photographs by Kathryn Kirk

Pictured in photo from left to right closest to the podium: Lyn Hill from New York Methodist Hospital, Denise West from Brooklyn Perinatal Unit, Gail Smith from Metro Plus Health, Borough President Marty Markowitz, Eileen Miller from Community Alliance to Retain Equitable Services (CARES), George Hulse from Healthfirst and Assemblymember James Brennan.

Borough President joins Assemblymember Brennan and Healthcare Leaders to Call on HRA to Fix Medicaid Enrollment Problems

On Wednesday, August 18, Borough President Marty Markowitz joined Assemblymember Jim Brennan, Deputy Executive Director of Metro Plus Health Plan Gail Smith, Deputy Director of Brooklyn Perinatal Network Denise West, and Vice President of External Affairs for Healthfirst George Hulse on the steps of Borough Hall to decry loss of Medicaid benefits for tens of thousands of eligible New Yorkers and demand HRA move quickly to ensure continuous coverage for all eligible New Yorkers. Assemblymember Rhoda Jacobs and State Senator Carl Andrews were also on hand to lend their support.

“Despite tremendous strides by Brooklyn hospitals to improve their facilities and quality of care in recent years, the health care system in our borough is in crisis,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. “A tangled web of red tape, the archaic system at the city’s Human Resources Administration automatically drops a resident’s Medicaid coverage unless he or she re-certifies each year, leaving tens of thousands of New Yorkers who are eligible for Medicaid out in the cold. This is unacceptable. Not only does it deter Brooklynites from getting the care they deserve, but this situation unfairly places an enormous burden on the financial health of our hospitals by forcing them to pay the tab for medical care that Medicaid should have covered in the first place.”

Borough President Markowitz’s Taskforce on Equity in State and Local policy, chaired by Assemblymember Brennan, along with CEO’s from Brooklyn’s voluntary hospitals met with the City’s Human Resources Administration in July to present detailed recommendations of ways to cut red tape and fast track public health insurance enrollments for eligible New York City residents. Brennan characterized HRA’s response as “inadequate” and said that “a plan needs to be put in place right now. HRA is putting bureaucratic convenience above access to health insurance for the public and compensation for services they have rendered.”