Funding Increased For Hospitals In Orange And Dutchess Counti

Seven hospitals across Dutchess and Orange counties are a few steps closer towards hiring more nurses and improving the quality of patient care, thanks to the approval of $12 million dollars from the Senate. U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced the Senate Medicare package qualifying the aforementioned hospitals for funding thanks to their status as New York Section 508 hospitals.

He fought for these hospitals to obtain this funding since the Section 508 program funding had expired last fall. The seven hospitals will now receive additional funding: Northern Dutchess Hospital receives $543,240, Bon Secours Community Hospital receives $1,271,500, Orange Regional Medical Center receives $525,090, St. Anthony Community Hospital receives $791,700, St. Francis Hospital receives $1,187,200, St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital receives $3,905,600 and Vassar Brothers Medical Center receives $3,960,600.

Certain hospitals are paid by Medicare based on factors such as the location of the hospital. Those hospitals that are considered to be in MSAs, that tend to offer higher salaries to staff and get more money. This unfortunately placed the hospitals in Orange and Dutchess counties at a disadvantage. Especially as they received lower payments thanks to geography, but still competed in higher wage markets.

The New York Section 508 hospital program that was established in 2003 contained the Medicare prescription drug benefits and all the other reforms of the Medicare program. Now, the Section 508 law provides one-time hospital reclassifications for Orange and Dutchess County hospitals into the higher-paying New York City and Long Island MSAs. The program had been extended for six months but had expired by October 2007. The second extension of the program is retroactive and will be in force until September 30, 2008.