NYC Health + Hospitals to Receive Nearly $900 million Reimbursement from FEMA for COVID-19 Emergency Spending & Treatment Expenses

Bronx, NY –  Today, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Ritchie Torres announced FEMA reimbursement of $620 million to NYC Health + Hospitals (H +H). This reimbursement follows the $260 million previously allocated to H+H earlier this year. The most recent commitment from FEMA brings the total reimbursement to $880 million. The system of 11 Hospitals across New York City have been waiting for this reimbursement from FEMA since October 2020. 

The reimbursement will cover staffing, equipment and patient care efforts that were necessary during the surge of COVID-19 cases in NYC. The receipt of this reimbursement will help to stabilize the finances of this extremely impactful health system. H+H has communicated to FEMA that they will likely submit additional expenses that will raise the total to roughly $1 billion.

Senator Schumer and Rep. Torres were joined by Mayor De Blasio, City Council Members Vanessa Gibson and Rafael Salamanca and representatives from unions including Local 420, Local 371, 1199, NYSNA, SEIU and healthcare professionals from Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx.

“New York City’s public hospitals made up the foundation of the City’s response to COVID-19. The doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and everyone involved in the HHC system fought day and night to save the lives of New Yorkers,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “Hospitals expanded to full capacity, taking on a surge in patients, and billions in expenses were incurred for their response to the pandemic. I delivered historic levels of funding for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund and I’m happy to announce that FEMA heeded our call to swiftly reimburse New York’s public hospitals.”

“New York City was the earliest epicenter of the coronavirus. NYC Health + Hospitals was hit the hardest because they serve the most vulnerable among us. COVID 19 affects all of us, but those effects are often uneven. It has a disproportionately more deadly and destructive impact on the very communities that Health + Hospitals exists to serve in the lowest income communities of color,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres. “The healthcare heroes of Health + Hospitals, the most essential of the essential workers are the heartbeat of New York City. We are proud to honor Health + Hospitals not only with words, but by securing this crucial reimbursement of over $600 million.”

“On behalf of our patients and staff, I want to thank Senator Schumer, Representative Torres, and all our champions in Washington, D.C. for all their hard work to secure our FEMA reimbursement,” said Mitchell Katz, MD, President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals. “Covid-19 showed New York City and the entire United States how essential a public hospital system was to this pandemic response – NYC Health + Hospitals treated and saved thousands of New Yorkers.”

“The hard work of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and Congressman Ritchie Torres, along with other supporters  to encourage FEMA to release the funds to Health+Hospitals Corporation will  serve as  a great  benefit to the organization and allow us to  continue  to serve our communities,” said Dr. Lewis Marshall, Chief Medical Officer, NYC Health+Hospitals.

“The 11 hospitals within the NYC Health + Hospitals system are a vital lifeline for millions of New Yorkers and this federal reimbursement from FEMA will ensure that they receive the necessary funding to continue to provide life-saving care. I want to thank Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Congressman Ritchie Torres for their advocacy, and for defending our city’s public health system,” said City Council Member Vanessa Gibson.