Until we face our own health crisis, most of us don't think about how our local hospitals remain solvent while providing high amounts of uncompensated care to the indigent, providing services to Medicaid and Medicare patients with reimbursement rates that are less than the cost of providing care, and continue to attract talented specialists so we can receive good quality healthcare in our own communities. In addition, we rarely consider how government policy decisions or lack of action can affect our hospital’s ability to provide wide ranging specialty care options.

Westchester Medical Center (WMCHealth) has served this community through good and hard times. It's where families go to bring new children into this world and where they say goodbye to loved ones. It's where the most vulnerable uninsured members of our community can still get critical emergency care and our Medicaid and Medicare population are cared for. Right now, WMCHealth’s ability to provide these services is caught up in a bureaucratic standoff in Washington DC that nobody is thinking about, but everybody should be.

Like many other states, New York State applied for additional Medicaid funding for WMCHealth over a year ago, to sustain current operations. The application was submitted on time, done by the book, and meets the requirements under federal law, including provisions in President Trump's own Big Beautiful Bill. However, the federal agency that must approve it, The Center’s for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), still has not approved the funding. Every day that passes puts more pressure on WMCHealth to cut programs so they can remain in service to our community.

I'm not a health policy expert. But I know that when a hospital that serves tens of thousands of Medicaid patients and impoverished or disabled residents can't get a straightforward funding decision out of Washington, something is wrong.

Thankfully, Congressman Mike Lawler has spoken up for WMCHealth in the past, but we need him again. Lawler has real relationships with President Trump and with CMS Administrator, Dr. Mehmet Oz. Lawler is in the unique position to call the President and call Dr. Oz to get our Medicaid funding for WMCHealth. Pick up the phone! Make the call! Get this done!

President Trump talks about cutting waste and improving health care for all Americans. Approving this crucial Medicaid funding is consistent with both. It goes directly to patient care, not middleman or fraudulent entities, it's been independently reviewed, and it was submitted following all the rules. There's no good reason to keep stalling.

Rabbi Yisroel Kahan