Congresswoman Clarke Commends Agreement to Protect Brooklyn's Hospitals

Press Release

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reached an agreement in principle on a waiver that will allow the state to reinvest $8 billion in Medicaid savings (referred to as the "Medicaid Waiver") in Brooklyn's safety-net hospitals, such as Long Island College Hospital, SUNY-Downstate and Interfaith Medical Center.

Last week, Congresswoman Clarke organized a meeting with Cindy Mann, Director of the Centers for Medicaid and CHIP at HHS and members of the New York State Congressional Delegation to urge approval of the Medicaid Waiver. Exactly one week after that meeting, the agreement in principle was reached.

Congresswoman Clarke stated, "I would like to thank Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and her team for their hard work on this issue. In particular, I want to applaud Cindy Mann and her staff. Over the past few months, my office staff has worked tirelessly with HHS on the Medicaid Waiver. It is gratifying to see that their work and vigilance has paid off for the people of Central Brooklyn."

Once the agreement has been finalized, Congresswoman Clarke will work with Governor Cuomo's office to ensure that Brooklyn's hospitals receive the financial support that they need and that Brooklyn residents deserve.

"The people of Brooklyn raised their voices and concerns and their voices have been heard," said Congresswoman Clarke. "The hundreds of thousands of families who depend on the services available our Brooklyn Hospitals will continue to have access to care -- access that will save lives and improve their quality of life. I want to thank my colleagues in New York State's Congressional Delegation for their partnership and collaboration in this effort. Now, we must continue to be vigilant in ensuring that the funding requested gets to our safety net hospitals and work with state and local officials and the community as a whole -- to allocate these funds to protect access to critical health services in Brooklyn."

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