Schumer Reveals: Vital Nursing Ed Programs in Capital Region Under Siege By Feds - New Rule Would Cut $1.8m, Force Teaching Programs to Close, Exacerbate Nursing Shortage

Press Release

SCHUMER REVEALS: VITAL NURSING ED PROGRAMS IN CAPITAL REGION UNDER SIEGE BY FEDS - NEW RULE WOULD CUT $1.8M, FORCE TEACHING PROGRAMS TO CLOSE, EXACERBATE NURSING SHORTAGE

CMS May Attempt to Pull Funding for Hospital-based Nursing Programs in Capital Region Without Notice; Has Already Started Severing Funds and Demanding Refunds from Programs across the Nation

As Much-Needed Funds Sit on the Chopping Block, Capital Region Faces 9.2% Nursing Shortage - Nearly 10% of Nurses in Region Will Retire in Next 4-5 Years

As nursing shortages persist across the Capital Region, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer revealed today that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' is threatening to cut over $1.8 million in funding from several hospital-based nursing education programs across the region, which are an important part of the nursing education system. As the agency starts severing funds and demanding refunds from programs across the country, Senator Schumer today outlined how losing this funding would severely threaten the local programs and imperil efforts to reduce the nursing shortage.

In a major push to protect these much-needed federal dollars and combat the nursing shortage, Senator Schumer today announced his legislation to ensure that CMS continues to fund Memorial, Ellis and Samaritan Hospitals' nursing education programs. The legislation would halt CMS' misguided, retroactive interpretation of a regulation governing nursing school reimbursement that threatens to take away over half a million dollars from each of the three Capital Region hospital-based nursing programs.

"This cavalier, slash-and-burn attitude towards our nursing education programs is over the top and must be stopped. At a time when we face a severe shortage of nurses and nursing faculty, the feds want to cut millions of dollars from vital hospital-based teaching programs," Schumer said. "This pending rule change would devastate the Capital Region's hospital-based nursing teaching programs and exacerbate an already dire nursing shortage. I will fight to the end for my legislation to put an immediate halt to CMS' misguided actions."

Memorial, Ellis and Samaritan Hospitals operate nursing education programs that train hundreds of nurses each year in a hospital setting to earn an associate degree. The 19 hospital-based nursing programs across New York State produce 20 percent of all advanced degree nursing graduates in the state and serve as a crucial component of the nursing education system. Hospital-operated schools of nursing have been the entry point for new nurses into the profession for more than a century.

According to the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses, more than 40 percent of nurses now holding a masters or doctoral degree got their start in diploma or associate-degree nursing schools. Graduates of these programs comprise more than 40 percent of the nurses who will attain the educational preparation necessary to teach future generations. Preserving this important access point for nursing education ensures that hospitals and school-based clinics have adequate staff, and that this important gateway to higher education for thousands of nurses each year remains intact.

These hospitals receive Medicare reimbursement funds to support their vital nursing education programs. Medicare is the largest source of federal support for nursing education, serving as a critical lifeline to nursing schools. Provider-operated nursing schools have been educating nurses for decades, some for nearly 100 years, and together with nursing colleges and universities, are important components of the nursing education system.

Recently, however, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid has decided to re-interpret the regulations that govern hospital-based nursing school reimbursement, singling out programs that have been providing top-notch nursing education for years and cutting off their funding without notice. CMS arbitrarily decided that certain nursing programs are not "provider-operated" and therefore should not receive Medicare funding to educate nurses in hospitals. CMS is demanding money back from these programs from previous years and has already started pulling funding and requesting reimbursements from at least four hospital-based nursing programs throughout the country. It is unknown when they will try to implement these changes in New York State.

If implemented, the Capital Region stands to lose over $1.8 million: Memorial Hospital would lose over $550,000, Ellis Hospital would lose over $600,000 and Samaritan Hospital would lose over $650,000. These cuts would effectively bankrupt the programs, possibly forcing them to close their nursing education programs and exacerbate a nursing shortage currently sweeping the Capital Region.

In Albany, Schenectady and Troy, 9.2 percent of nursing positions remain vacant as hospitals and health facilities are unable to find enough nurses to meet the need. Additionally, nearly 10 percent of nurses in the region are expected to retire in the next five years, exacerbating the shortage. Across the nation, the nursing shortage is expected to more than double to 17 percent by 2010. By 2020, it is predicted that there will be a deficit of over 1 million registered nurses nationwide. Additionally, as the population is aging and using our healthcare system more, nursing colleges and universities are struggling to expand enrollment to meet the rising demand.

In an effort to keep the critical federal funding off the chopping block and alleviate the Capital Region's nursing shortage, Senator Schumer today announced his legislation, S. 3468, The Nursing and Allied Health Education Preservation Act of 2008, that would ensure Medicare continues to fund nursing education provided through hospitals by stopping CMS's misinterpretation and recoupment activities.

Specifically, the bill would expand the definition of "provider-operated nursing programs" to include programs that interact with other health care entities; provide examples of programs to which CMS cannot deny reimbursements; allow providers to adapt to ensure Medicare eligibility; and halt CMS action against hospitals and require the agency to pay back recouped monies; modify restrictive regulations directing provider operated programs to allow innovation in nurse education.

"This rule change is the last thing we need when we are facing a nursing shortage that will only grow larger as the baby boomer's generation ages. This legislation would protect these hospital-based nursing programs from these misguided reinterpretations that threaten their very existence and I will fight tirelessly to make sure this bill passes," Schumer said.

"At a time when there is already a shortage of nurses, nurse educators and nursing students, hospital-based nursing programs play an increasingly critical role in the education system to breed new generations of nurses to care for those who need it," stated Norman Dascher, chief executive officer of the patient care division of Northeast Health which operates Samaritan Hospital in Troy and Albany Memorial Hospital.

"Without federal support and a continued commitment to hospital-based nursing programs, the very health of our communities may be in jeopardy," he added.

"A loss of funding for our School of Nursing would be especially significant, given that Ellis has the unique responsibility --and financial burden -- of carrying out state-driven health care reforms," said Vice President of Nursing, Cecelia Lynch. "We are grateful to Senator Schumer for his efforts to safeguard federal dollars for these much-needed programs. Ellis Hospital's School of Nursing is proud to educate a future generation of highly-qualified nurses for our community who are needed now more than ever given a nursing shortage that will become even more acute as the Baby Boomer generation ages," she added.

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