I am grateful to all who joined us at the IHA Annual meeting in May at the Otesaga where we heard from key members of the legislature and were joined at our board meeting by Dr. John Morley, Mark Hennessy and Carrie Roseamelia from the Department of Health. With the first half of 2023 behind us, we have seen the official announcement of the end of the COVID pandemic at the State and Federal levels a late state budget and the end of state legislative session. All of these various activities have kept the Iroquois staff very busy on behalf of our members.
Throughout the budget and legislative session IHA carried its message that our members need relief. This is why IHA has been so vocal about the need to increase Medicaid rates by 25% and to provide Upstate Hospitals with dedicated and permanent supportive funding. We recognized that a rate increase of 25% was unlikely. However, our advocacy led to Medicaid rate increases on the for in-patient and out-patient rates.
Throughout the end of session, IHA never stopped pushing for adequate workforce policy solutions with the Governor’s office, the Legislature, Division of the Budget and the Department of Health. While some relief came it fell short of the need. IHA will continue its unrelenting push for workforce solutions as the DOH Workforce office gets organized, the pending 1115 waiver advances, and the Legislature prepares for the 2024 session.
This year we have created a workgroups for our member CFOs, and Risk and Compliance Professionals, and as a result of our Annual Meeting discussions we are creating a workgroup on Workplace Violence. We believe these groups will assist you in your day to day challenge and further enhance your membership.
Thank you for your continued membership and participation in IHA.