Children’s hospital urges coronavirus financial hardship relief
ALBANY, N.Y. » Leaders of four upstate New York children’s hospitals, including the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Med, have joined together to urgently request additional financial assistance for their pediatric practices as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Pediatricians affiliated with the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Med, Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital (Upstate Medical University) in Syracuse, Golisano Children’s Hospital (University of Rochester Medical Center) and John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital of Buffalo (Kaleida Health, University at Buffalo) are calling upon elected officials for state and national funding to offset the dire financial circumstances they are experiencing due to COVID-19.
“We have done everything to protect our communities during this pandemic, but the unfortunate byproduct is that the practice of pediatrics as we knew it before COVID is at risk,” said Dr. Barbara E. Ostrov, chief of service at the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Med. “The financial impact to some pediatric practices is not sustainable, and we fear that without any significant relief, there may come a point where some practices may have to reduce hours, staff with fewer physicians or close.”
During the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Ostrov said that Albany Med’s pediatric practices experienced a 40- to 50-percent decline in patient visits and some specialists still remain 10 to 20 percent below last year’s volumes at this time.
Pediatric experts say the decline in patient visits is due to parents’ reluctance to take their children to the doctor’s office for fear of contracting COVID-19. On the other hand, some children have not needed “sick visits” during this time of quarantine because they have not been in school or in contact with other children, and, therefore, are less likely to become ill. However, children still need regular pediatric care - to monitor their development; obtain routine preventative care and vaccinations for preventable illnesses like polio, hepatitis, measles and tetanus; and ensure all their health and psycho-social needs are being met.
Dr. Rebecca Butterfield, chief of General Pediatrics at the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital, also noted that immunizations in children in Albany County have fallen. A recent national report from the Vaccines for Children program showed an alarming decline in vaccination rate in the past few months compared to earlier in the year.
“The irony is that our effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 may lead to other vaccine-preventable illnesses,” said Dr. Butterfield during a media interview in early June.
Additionally, practices have had to cope with the added expense of much more personal protective equipment and overhauling the processes for seeing patients — to keep patients and themselves safe from COVID-19 —which has limited the number of patients who can be seen each day.
One source of support to provide relief for pediatric practices is from the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund. In April, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services distributed $30 billion to eligible health care providers, but pediatric practices locally did not receive such funding because it mainly was for Medicare providers.
Another round of funding earmarked for practices that participate in Medicaid/Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is expected to be released soon. It is unknown how much funding Capital Region pediatricians would be eligible to receive.
Additionally, pediatric leaders are urging health insurers to make advance payments to their practices to stem the tide of red ink that is threatening services. Despite reduced demand for health care services during the pandemic, the impact on health insurers has been less as they have continued to collect premiums.
John Regan, associate counsel and director of Government Relations at Albany Med, said that Albany Med will be watching state and federal legislation closely in the coming weeks.
“In terms of funding, there is likely to be another federal package that the national hospital associations are advocating for,” said Regan. “But it remains up in the air and won’t begin to be negotiated until late July. The state Legislature is back in session briefly this week, but we don’t have any indication of what they will pass.”
Dr. Ostrov noted that upstate pediatricians care for many of our community’s most vulnerable children. Ensuring pediatric practices can thrive is the best way to be sure that children remain as healthy as possible. “We need everyone’s support to continue to prioritize the health and well-being of our children.”