{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Radio Chatskill","title":"Governor Hochul Faces Dec. 19 Deadline on LICH Act to Protect Hospital Access","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":472,"description":"Governor Kathy Hochul has until midnight on Dec. 19 to sign or veto the  Local Input in Community Healthcare Act, or LICH Act, legislation aimed at giving communities more notice and input when hospitals plan to close. The bill passed the state legislature for the second year in a row.“[The LICH Act] would require ample advance notice to the public if a hospital wants to close. It would also require much greater engagement of the community that would be affected by a closure. And it would strengthen the state review process to better protect patients,” said health policy consultant Lois Uttley.Hospitals at Financial RiskUttley said looming federal cuts and rising costs put many hospitals in jeopardy.“Unfortunately, federal cuts to healthcare funding are looming and they are threatening the financial viability, frankly, of many new hospitals. Rural hospitals, such as those in the Catskills and urban safety net hospitals are considered to be especially at risk. So that's why we need much stronger state oversight and community engagement to protect patients' access to care when their hospitals are proposing to downsize or even close entirely,” she said.Uttley added, “That's not surprising. Many, many rural hospitals all across the country and also here in New York are already financially at risk. And once the provisions of the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill,'which I would call the 'Big Ugly Bill,' go into effect, hospitals are going to be losing a lot of money. The bill cuts 900 billion dollars from Medicaid funding over the course of maybe 10 years. It also eliminates the enhanced subsidies that people have been getting for health insurance plans that they purchase through the Affordable Care Act plans like the New York Exchange. The result of all this is going to be that more people will be showing up at hospitals with no insurance or really inadequate insurance and that will mean that hospitals will be, you know, having to care for people without proper...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/q7XXsnSXT_u4mZLCn3chUorwDmUD_kWiB272D6emB18/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80N2Uy/OGY5MWUwZThkYTEw/NDVkZGM2ZGZkZDIw/ZjliOS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}