The New York Safety Net Hospital Coalition was formed in response to the urgent need to structurally reform the outdated Medicaid reimbursement rates for safety net hospitals in New York.

The Coalition member hospitals serve high volumes of Medicaid and uninsured patients, which represent 36% or more of the patients they serve. Coalition members include Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, Interfaith Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Flushing Hospital Medical Center, St. Barnabas Hospital, St. John’s Episcopal, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, and NYC Health + Hospitals.

Safety net hospitals serve New York City's most historically marginalized neighborhoods where health and economic disparities are most stark. The neighborhoods served by community safety net hospitals are home to more than 4.7 million New Yorkers where up to 76% of the residents are people of color, including Black and Latinx residents. These neighborhoods have experienced significantly higher rates of COVID hospitalizations and deaths, and have long suffered from higher poverty rates, higher rates of uninsurance, and significantly worse health outcomes compared to wealthier neighborhoods.

While safety net hospitals are essential providers of services and anchors in marginalized communities throughout New York, they are struggling because of longstanding structural inequities in how they are reimbursed and supported by the state.