NUMC begins paying state $116M in past due health insurance premiums

Nassau University Medical Center has begun paying the state back for late health insurance premiums in a deal to send a small part each month of its nearly $116 million debt, providing relief to the struggling hospital, officials have confirmed.

The unpaid bills jumped from $66.4 million in May 2018 to $93.3 million in June 2019, and now stands at $115.9 million, according to the state Civil Service Department, which administers insurance through the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) for 4,400 NuHealth employees and retirees. NuHealth is the public benefit corporation that runs NUMC.

According to the agreement, NuHealth must pay its monthly premium of about $6.6 million on time and submit an additional monthly payment of at least $2 million. Last year, NuHealth submitted a $15 million down payment as part of the agreement, according to the Civil Service Department. NuHealth and the state reached the agreement in July, and the first $2 million payment was submitted by Aug. 25.

“I appreciate the state’s continued efforts to support NUMC,” former NuHealth chairman George Tsunis said last week before stepping down after nearly two years in the role.

For years, NuHealth has struggled to keep up with monthly health insurance premium bills. Last year, the state Civil Service Department urged the corporation to agree to a payment plan for the overdue balance.

“This situation is untenable and must be resolved,” J. Marc Hannibal, special counsel for the state Civil Service Department, wrote in a May 2019 letter to NUMC.

Last year, the civil service bureau proposed a payment plan in which NUMC would pay $3.55 million monthly, along with its current bills, and an initial $15 million payment.

Since 2010, state officials have been trying get NuHealth to pay its health care premiums on time.

In a February 2019 letter to NuHealth chief financial officer John Maher, Raquel Gonzalez, the department’s deputy commissioner for administration, said if a repayment plan agreement were not established that day, “NuHealth has an obligation to immediately notify its enrollees that their health insurance will be terminated effective April 1, 2019.”

Jerry Laricchiuta, CSEA Nassau County Local 830 president, said in an interview on Tuesday that the deal helped to "give us a little breathing room."

“I don't know how you pay that back," he said.

Nassau Interim Finance Authority Chairman Adam Barsky said, "We are aware of the arrearage, and it's part of the reasons for our concerns."

Christine Geed, a spokeswoman for County Executive Laura Curran, said “It is our understanding that the pay plan was to protect employees and their benefits. That is one of our primary concerns. The balance of arrears are certainly quite large.”

Nassau County backs $188 million in hospital debt.

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.