Nassau Suffolk Hospital Council (NSHC)

State: the nassau-suffolk Hospital Council (nshc) and its member hospitals worked with the healthcare association of new york state and new york's allied regional Hospital associations throughout 2023 to ensure member hospitals concerns about workforce shortages, unfair managed care practices, hospitals' financial struggles were front and center before lawmakers. Achieving a state budget reasonable to nshc member hospitals was a major focus in the early months of 2023. Efforts resulted in inpatient and outpatient medicaid rate increases, continued supportive funding for financially distressed hospitals, and investment in healthcare facility modernization. Advocacy efforts were unsuccessful in securing a managed reform known as "pay and review and a repeal of the medicaid pharmacy benefit that shifted from managed care plans to the state's pharmacy plan. During the post budget season, nshc continued its work with legislators, key regulators, and department of health leadership to retain a favorable environment for hospitals. Achievements included a veto, for the second year in a row, of an expansion of the wrongful death statute and helping members understand and comply with the health equity impact assessment law that took effect in june 2023. Nshc continued to coordinate population health activities via the initiative known as the long island health collaborative and enrollment assistance via the nysdoh aged, blind and disabled grant.

Federal: nshc and its member hospitals, along with the healthcare association of new york state and new york's allied regional Hospital associations and the american Hospital association, continued to urge the congressional delegation's assistance with workforce shortages and flexibilities, better medicare reimbursement, and elimination of any harmful cuts to the 340b drug pricing program. Advocacy efforts resulted at year's end in a delay of the harmful medicaid disproportionate share Hospital (dsh) cut for two years. However, that legislation came with a medicare site-neutral payment cut related to physician administration of drugs in off-campus Hospital outpatient departments. This was just one of several site neutral threats that the association and its member hospitals faced in 2023. Due to advocacy efforts, telehealth flexibilities and medicare's acute Hospital care at home program will continue through 2024, despite the covid 19 national emergency and the public health emergency declarations ending in may 2023. The end of these emergency declarations brought a stop to many workforce flexibilities and other policies that eased hospitals' reporting burdens during the pandemic.