NEW YORK – A spate of lawsuits questions the findings of a New York state commission that recommends the closing of nine hospitals and changes affecting 48 other facilities.
At least one suit gained a hearing when a state supreme court judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the closure of Westchester Square Medical Center. An initial hearing was set for the suit late last month.
The restraining order also blocked first steps toward closing the eight other facilities, a representative from the Greater New York Hospital Association said.
The suit, filed by the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and Chadbourne & Parke LLP, charges the New York state legislature with unconstitutionally delegating powers to The Berger Commission.
The commission in late November filed its recommendation to downsize, merge and close hospitals and nursing homes throughout the state. The recommendations were to become law on January 1 without legislative approval, the suit charged. The closures were expected to take 12 to 18 months.
Ken Raske, GNYHA’s president, said the lawsuits add a degree of uncertainty to the implementation of the recommendations. “Whether or not it’s going to stay on the timetable is hard to know,” he said. “There’s no precedent for this – no one’s been down this road before.”
Former Gov. George Pataki and the state legislature created the Berger Commission, formally titled the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, to independently review healthcare capacity and resources in the state. Its 54 members also received input from six regional advisory committees.
The governor-elect, Elliot Spitzer, said he accepts the recommendations of the commission, contending that the savings from implementing them will “accrue to Medicare and the providers themselves, not the state through reduced Medicaid payments.”
A joint response from GNYHA and Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union supports the commission’s findings, but urges the state make no further cuts in Medicaid or funding for hospitals and nursing homes and asks federal lawmakers to “make a fair Medicaid funding formula a reality for New York.”