Establishes operating accounts for three state university of New York medical hospitals; repealer

Section 2: Amends subdivision 8-a of section 355 of the Education Law, which provides the authority for the existing state university health care account, to direct the budget director to develop a methodology for the allocation of general fund monies to each of the SUNY hospitals.

Section 3. Authorizes and directs the State Comptroller to transfer remaining funds from the existing SUNY Hospitals' Income Reimbursable Account to the newly created accounts for each of the three hospitals.

Section 4: Sets out an immediate effective date, provided that sections two and three will take effect 30 days after becoming law.

Justification

The State University of New York (SUNY) currently operates three public hospitals. The financial health of these hospitals is of vital importance, as public hospitals provide services to constituencies that are often not served by private, not-for-profit hospitals. Transparency is an important element in preserving the financial health of these hospitals.

Currently, funds for the three SUNY hospitals are appropriated and expended out of one account This bill would create separate accounts for each SUNY hospital within State Finance Law, thereby allowing for increased transparency and accountability of each hospital's finances.

Although all three hospitals are owned and operated by SUNY, each hospital is unique and faces a different degree of financial challenges. For instance, it is widely known that SUNY Downstate has been experiencing significant financial troubles for more than a year Despite substantial state financial assistance in the current fiscal year and the ongoing implementation of a sustainability and restructuring plan, Downstate continues to experience financial losses, largely attributable to the ongoing costs associated with operating the Long Island College Hospital (LICH). As the Downstate sustainability plan submitted by SUNY in June assumed considerable savings resulting from exiting the operation of LICH, the inability of SUNY to exit operations - due to a court ruling mandating that LICH remain open - now threatens the financial viability of the entire SUNY system At a recent SUNY Board of Trustees meeting, it was announced that the cost of continuing to operate LICH could amount to a $290 increase in annual resident undergraduate tuition rates. This is not a cost that students and families should have to bear.

This bill requires that funds to be expended out of any of the SUNY hospital accounts come from self-generated revenues or the State's General Fund pursuant to a transfer. Therefore, SUNY would not have the authority to utilize tuition revenues, or other funding streams from its state-operated campuses to support the operation of its hospitals.

Legislative history

2014 S.6303

Fiscal implications

There are no direct costs to the State associated with this bill.

Effective date

Immediately, provided that sections two and three will take effect 30 days after becoming law.