Contact: Sunny Mindel/Brenda Pérez (212) 788-2958
"This past week, at the request of Senator Daniel P. Moynihan and New York's medical and health care community -- including the Greater New York Hospital Association, Local 1199, and others -- I spoke with the Senate and House leadership and strongly encouraged them to restore these Medicare cuts. In addition, I wrote to Senator Trent Lott explaining the deleterious impact these cuts would have on New York" said Mayor Giuliani.
The Mayor continued, "The restorations are critical to maintaining the level of excellence of our teaching hospitals and other medical institutions, including their commitment to developing new treatments and technologies for patient care. The proposed funding cuts also would have had a devastating impact on the ability of our teaching hospitals to provide care for the needy. More than 15 percent of doctors in America are trained in New York State, and the potential impact of these cuts could affect health care -- not only locally, but across the nation."
Mayor Giuliani commended Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, and others for their leadership in recognizing the unique role and importance of teaching hospitals and for restoring this funding.
"I would also like to thank Senator Moynihan for his tireless efforts to protect New York's teaching hospitals. His work with Senator William Roth on the Senate Finance Committee was critical in the effort to preserve this funding," said Mayor Giuliani. "Our efforts have helped restore significant Federal teaching hospital funding for the next two years. But, since the restorations have not yet been extended by Congress beyond those years, we're going to continue working to restore the funds fully for Fiscal Years 2002, 2003, and 2004."