PEF: State 'fudged' SUNY budget numbers

SUNY hospitals threatened by privatization PEF: State 'fudged' SUNY budget numbers
By MARY CAROLINE POWERS The much-discussed SUNY budget shortfall is inaccurately being blamed on the three hospitals in the SUNY system, according to PEF Executive Board member and labor-management chair at SUNY Charles McAteer. "Some of the public statements made about this budget shortfall tend to leave the misleading impression that the SUNY hospitals are overspending, or are losing money in large amounts. But the reality is very different," McAteer said. He and PEF Legislative Director Brian Curran recently testified before the Assembly committees on Higher Education and Ways and Means. PEF represents approximately 2,600 employees in the SUNY system, most of them health care professionals at the three SUNY hospitals in Stony Brook, Brooklyn and Syracuse. Bogus shortfall McAteer told lawmakers that a PEF analysis of the "shortfall" found two other sources for it. · The fiscal year budget for 1999-2000 did not provide funds to cover about $32 million in increased costs resulting from the state's bargaining agreement with United University Professions (UUP). The money has since been found, but as McAteer told lawmakers, "It seems unreasonable that funds for a labor agreement negotiated by the executive were not provided for in the Executive Budget." · The assumption that the SUNY hospitals would contribute $116 million for the 1998-99 fiscal year was unrealistic. At the close of that fiscal year, the "hospital account" was short by about $77 million. That's when some fancy accounting took place. In order to close the books on 1998-99 with the account in balance, $77 million was "borrowed" from 1999-2000 and assigned to the 1998-99 fiscal year. This shifted the deficit forward; it did not eliminate it. McAteer, who is an architectural estimator at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, cited the following figures for the 10-year period from 1987 to 1997: · Patient revenues grew by $371 million, a 159 percent increase, to $692 million in 1997-98 at the SUNY hospitals. · State support for the hospitals has declined. During the same 10-year period it has averaged $75 million a year. In 1997-98 it was only $16 million. · While patient revenue (and patient caseload) increased, staffing grew at a much slower rate. It currently is at its lowest level since 1992, when patient revenues were two-thirds what they are now. "PEF does not believe the problem originates at the SUNY hospitals. It lies with those who believe the hospitals should be cut off from the rest of SUNY and denied state support," McAteer said. Privatization threat looms The Appendix to the Executive Budget for fiscal year 2000-2001 states that the "fiscal challenges facing the SUNY hospitals are further exacerbated by the operational inflexibility caused by the state-agency status," and goes on to note that a consulting firm has been hired to assess the finances of SUNY's teaching hospitals. "That firm (Price Waterhouse Coopers) typically recommends privatization, and layoffs of workers. Their report will likely raise privatization as an issue," Curran said. PEF president Roger Benson is unequivocal in his opposition to privatizing the SUNY hospitals. "It would effect the members' job security, salaries and benefits and we cannot forget that the SUNY Health Care Education Program is an important part of the SUNY mission. To privatize them to make more money would be giving up that educational mission," Benson warned. "It would be very damaging to SUNY, to the whole health-care education picture in the state, the communities these hospitals serve and would also endanger important medical research." McAteer said PEF has requested a meeting with the new SUNY chancellor, Robert King, to hash out the union's concerns about the bogus budget shortfall and the serious consequences that would result if the SUNY hospitals are privatized.
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