The SUNY-owned hospital in Brooklyn facing a newly announced downsizing plan has seen its patient volume and revenue plunge over the past decade, according to a review of its financial reports.
Inpatient discharges at University Hospital at Downstate dropped 72 percent from 2012 to 2022, and income dropped 46 percent, the reports show (see charts).
The hospital, commonly known as SUNY Downstate, lost money in eight of the past 11 years, and its net assets sank to a new low of minus $330 million in 2022.
These trends help to explain why SUNY Chancellor John King recently announced plans to merge the hospital's inpatient operations into New York City-owned Kings County Hospital, which neighbors SUNY Downstate, and renovate the SUNY facility as a center for outpatient care.
Critics of the proposal fear it would amount to a de facto shutdown, but Governor Hochul's office said her plan is to "revitalize Downstate – not close it."
The hospital's financial reports indicate that its recent troubles have been driven by a decline in customer demand. Its annual volume of inpatient cases – the major source of revenue for most hospitals – dropped from more than 30,000 in 2012 to fewer than 10,000 since 2019.
More than half of its patients are enrolled in the state-run Medicaid health plan for the low-income and disabled, which typically pays lower fees than commercial insurance.
However, SUNY Downstate reported that its Medicaid revenue exceeded its costs of care in five of the last six years – likely because it received supplemental grants on top of its reimbursement for care provided. Its accumulated Medicaid surplus from 2017 to 2022 was $143 million.
Another contributing factor to SUNY's decline might have been its ill-fated 2011 takeover of nearby Long Island College Hospital. The deal engineered by former Governor David Paterson rescued LICH from the brink of closure but saddled SUNY Downstate with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. SUNY officials decided the takeover was a mistake and sold off the LICH facility to developers in 2014.
About the Author
You may also like
The House GOP’s Shrinking Budget Plan Could Still Cost New York Billions
The likely impact of federal health-care cutbacks has diminished in recent days as House Republican leaders backed away from some of their bigger-ticket proposals, reducing the estimated savings to $625 billion from previous figures of $715 billion and $8 Read More
Feds Move To Close Medicaid’s ‘MCO Tax’ Loophole, Spelling Trouble for New York
New York's budget has sprung its first major leak just five days after being finalized by Governor Hochul and the Legislature.
On Tuesday, federal officials announced a that would Read More
Highlights of Albany’s Bloated and Belated Budget
The state Legislature approved the last of nine budget bills Thursday evening, 38 days after the start of the fiscal year. Here are some highlights of the fiscal impact of final spending plan:
Top lines
Read More
How Medicaid ‘Expansion’ Changes Could Affect New York
As House Republicans consider cutbacks to federal Medicaid funding, their focus has turned to the so-called expansion population.
Although the details of remain undetermined, the s Read More
How Albany Could Save Millions by Closing a Medicaid Loophole
A glitch in state insurance law is allowing doctors to collect Medicaid fees that are sometimes hundreds of times higher than the program normally pays, costing taxpayers millions of dollars a year.
Read More
After Tariff Shock, Albany Should Face its New Fiscal Reality
This year, for once, state lawmakers' failure to pass a timely budget could prove to be a stroke of luck.
When President Trump rolled out his on April 2, Albany leaders had not agreed on a spending plan for the f Read More
New York’s Home Health Workforce Jumps by Another 10 Percent
New York's home health employment is continuing to soar, growing by 57,000 jobs or 10 percent from 2023 to 2024, according to newly released data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Read More
Hochul Pushes New Energy Tax Past Next Election
Governor Hochul has further delayed what amounts to a tax on energy until after the next general election.
Almost six years after the state adopted an aggressive emissions-cutting Read More