After 19 months of haggling, the Obama administration informally agreed yesterday to allow New York to reinvest $8 billion in Medicaid savings back into the state's health care system. The money will go towards revamping or replacing financially ailing hospitals and modernizing an outdated healthcare system. Gov. Andrew Cuomo had requested $10 billion. Waivers on Medicaid payments had been approved for other states months ago. The funds will be released to New York over five years and come on the condition that inpatient hospital beds be reduced by 25 percent. Although it will be a boost to struggling hospitals, particularly in Brooklyn, failing institutions will not be bailed out unless they are restructured. Long Island College Hospital may not be eligible for funds from the waiver, because it doesn't have a credible plan to reduce admissions. Mayor Bill de Blasio signaled possible support for turning LIHC into a combination of a free-standing emergency room, clinic, and affordable housing.
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