NYU Langone Health joined nine other medical centers in suing the Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., claiming that his agency is withholding Medicare funds used to treat low-income senior patients.
The lawsuit, filed last month, alleges that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is unlawfully cutting support by distorting patient counts at Disproportionate Share Hospitals — medical centers that primarily serve lower-income patients — and applying a 2023 rule to payments dating back to 2004. Jean Bae, a clinical associate professor at NYU’s School of Global Public Health, told WSN that if the HHS wins the lawsuit, less federal money will go towards Medicare, forcing hospitals to rely more heavily on internal and taxpayer funds.
“These hospitals often operate on thin margins and rely heavily on federal reimbursement for Medicaid and Medicare patients,” Bae said. “DSH funding cuts can be a huge blow to their financial stability, and by extension, healthcare access for the already vulnerable Americans.”…