The Federal Government is ordering New York Counties to give back Nursing Home money... Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has decided to retroactively recover “Intergovernmental Transfer” or IGT funds from several New York counties going back to State fiscal year 2006-07. The net effect statewide is estimated to be in the neighborhood of $7.2 million dollars.
In Eastern New York, Albany county tops the list, owing $3.7 million... followed by Westchester at $2.1 million and Ulster, $1.5 million...
For more than a decade, the cost of running nursing homes, combined with the expensive capital costs needed to keep the facilities up to date, has prompted numerous counties across the state to close their facilities.
CMS referred calls for comment to the New York State Department of Health, which did not respond in time for broadcast... Mark Levine is Deputy Director of the New York State Association of Counties: he says CMS decided the funds need to be recovered in this calendar year... the due date : the end of June...
Ulster County Executive Mike Hein calls this "...a clear example of a disconnect between the State Department of Health and the Federal Government. The Office of the Albany County Executive said that because the matter is under legal review, it could not comment. Westchester County officials say they haven't operated any county nursing facilities in "quite some time" and are reviewing the CMS information.
Mark Levine says many of New York's counties have considered selling their nursing homes, or other exploring other options, to reduce the burden on their taxpayers.
Levine points out that are currently a dozen counties across the state currently assessing what to do with their County Nuring Home.
