Budget deal could cost clinics in Suffolk

ALBANY -- Suffolk health clinics would lose more than $20 million under the budget deal struck by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and legislative leaders, a scenario county officials say would cause big cuts to the public medical system.

The funding loss would come on top of millions in Medicaid cuts and would be a blow to Suffolk's unique system of eight public health centers. The total budget for the centers, created to provide care in far-flung parts of the state's second-largest county by land area, is about $65 million and recorded about 300,000 medical visits last year.

Suffolk officials withheld judgment Tuesday, saying they had not yet seen a final health bill. But a spokesman for Cuomo and key Senate and Assembly lawmakers said Suffolk's funding was almost certainly gone as they slice $3.5 billion to close a $10-billion budget deficit.

"There's only so much money the legislature has to restore," said state Sen. Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City), the Health Committee chairman and a key budget negotiator.

In something of a surprise Tuesday, the Senate and Assembly began voting on the first bills authorizing the state's $132.5-billion budget. Both houses approved transportation and economic development funding and voted for Cuomo's plan to merge several state agencies. The Senate also approved the bill that would fund all state administrative functions.

The $53-billion health bill remained unresolved last night. But Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) said only "minor points" were still being negotiated and expected to pass all the necessary budget bills a day before the deadline of midnight Friday. "We're going to pass it early," Skelos said.

Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto said the Suffolk funding cut was comparable to the cuts other counties and state agencies face. "All levels of government must find ways to provide the services . . . at a lower cost to taxpayers," Vlasto said.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, who was not available for comment Tuesday, has said he might lay off 85 county workers and potentially back out of deals with hospitals to run two health centers in Greenlawn and Coram if the funding disappeared. "We're bracing for the worst but hoping for something better," said Levy spokesman Dan Aug.

Suffolk would lose funds two ways. First, the state is withholding $19.3 million from the county after it decided the health centers were improperly using state money to care for adults with chronic conditions. The county disputes that and has filed a lawsuit and asked the legislature to restore the funding.

The county also would lose about $4 million through the elimination of public health funding for what the state calls "optional services." They include many health center functions and would also cause cuts to the medical examiner and emergency responders.

County officials said Suffolk would be hit harder than others because its medical system relies on health centers that use "optional" public health funding. Most counties and cities have a public hospital, which doesn't use optional services.