{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.schumer.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-after-years-of-upstate-ny-hospitals-being-shortchanged-announces-he-has-secured-massive-nearly-1-billion-increase-in-payments-from-feds-for-hospitals_every-single-year--under-new-finalized-rule-to-medicare-wage-payments-schumer-breaks-down-region-by-region-major-fed--for-impacted-hospitals-across-upstate-ny", "SCHUMER, AFTER YEARS OF UPSTATE NY HOSPITALS BEING SHORTCHANGED, ANNOUNCES HE HAS SECURED MASSIVE NEARLY $1 BILLION INCREASE IN PAYMENTS FROM FEDS FOR HOSPITALS \u2013 EVERY SINGLE YEAR \u2013 UNDER NEW...", "2023-08-02", "2023", "2023-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "NY", "Charles E. Schumer", "S000148", "www.schumer.senate.gov", "schumer", "https://www.schumer.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Schumer Has Fought For Years To Fix The Medicare Wage Index, Which For Decades Has Denied Hundreds Of Millions In Medicare Payments For Upstate NY Hospitals That They Rightly Deserved, Contributing To Financial Woes And Worsening Doctor And Nurse Shortages Across The State\n\nAfter Launching An All Out Push Earlier This Year, Schumer Says Finalized CMS Rule Will Have Game Changing $967+ Million Estimated Impact On Upstate NY Every Single Year\u2013 Touching Rural And Urban Hospitals In Every Region Helping To Improve Healthcare For All\n\nSchumer: Upstate NY Hospitals Receiving The Fair & Full Reimbursements They Have Been Denied For Far Too Long Means Better Healthcare For Communities And Families Across New York\n\nFollowing years of relentless advocacy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has officially finalized a rule that will have an estimated nearly $1 billion impact for increased payments to Upstate New York hospitals every single year from the federal government.\n\n\u201cThis is one of the biggest shots in the arm for federal funding Upstate NY hospitals have seen in decades. This will be a monumental boost to healthcare for our families and to help our healthcare providers fix budget shortfalls, address doctor and nurse shortages and so much more. For years, our hardworking healthcare providers have faced unfairly low Medicare payments, receiving cents on the dollar for the care they provide, but now after over a decade of fighting I am proud to announce I have secured the rules change which will bring nearly $1 billion every single year to hospitals across Upstate NY,\u201d said Senator Schumer. \u201cYears from now, we will look back at today as a pivotal moment for our Upstate New York hospitals. From Albany to Buffalo, and Binghamton to Watertown, hospitals big and small, in rural and urban areas, will finally get the support and full reimbursements they have long deserved and have been denied for too long.\u201d\n\n\u201cCMS\u2019 adjustment to the calculation of the wage index rural floor will have a tremendous positive impact on many of upstate New York hospitals and health systems,\u201d said HANYS President Bea Grause, RN, JD. \u201cWe are tremendously grateful to Sen. Schumer and Rep. Tonko for their steadfast dedication to New York\u2019s hospitals and for ensuring CMS finalized this important provision. The resulting increased Medicare reimbursement to our providers will immediately help to sustain and bolster vulnerable New Yorker\u2019s access to healthcare services.\u201d\n\nSchumer explained that the Medicare Wage Index rate is used to determine how much money the U.S. government pays hospitals for labor costs when they treat Medicare patients. Each metro area is assigned a rate that dictates whether they receive more or less than the national average for health care labor costs, however, historically hospitals in Upstate NY had received less than the true cost of providing healthcare for the areas they served. For example, since the 1980s, hospitals in the Albany area have received only 86 percent of what the average hospital receives to account for wages, which is not reflective of the true wages and labor market in Albany. The new FY24 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) rule will now increase the Capital Region\u2019s adjustment to 122 percent of what the average hospital receives in wage adjustments, finally acknowledging that the region needs much higher than averages wages to compete and bring in the best providers, thereby bringing hundreds of millions in federal funding to Capital Region hospitals each year helping to improve healthcare for the communities they serve. You can find an estimated region by region breakdown below:\n\nOverall, Schumer explained that the new finalized rule change which was announced today will amend the Medicare formula to include an estimated $967+ million in increased federal funding for hospital systems across Upstate New York. This past May, Schumer launched an all-out push to ensure that the proposal would be finalized by CMS, working with fellow representatives, New York hospitals and other stakeholders to support the proposal. Later that month, the senator rallied with major healthcare and hospital leaders from across the Capital Region and personally wrote to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks- LaSure to finalize the proposed rules change.\n\nHospitals in every region of Upstate New York are expected to benefit from this rules change. A full breakdown on the impact for all regions across Upstate New York annually can be found below:\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:30:18Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.schumer.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-after-years-of-upstate-ny-hospitals-being-shortchanged-announces-he-has-secured-massive-nearly-1-billion-increase-in-payments-from-feds-for-hospitals_every-single-year--under-new-finalized-rule-to-medicare-wage-payments-schumer-breaks-down-region-by-region-major-fed--for-impacted-hospitals-across-upstate-ny"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3827949296683073, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}