A new federal program offers hefty payments to small hospitals at risk of closing. But it comes with a bewildering requirement: to end all inpatient care.
For decades, smaller “safety net” hospitals like Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, in Brooklyn, have been losing money and are under pressure to close. But the pandemic has shown just how needed they are.
By next year, half of Medicare beneficiaries will have a private Medicare Advantage plan. Most large insurers in the program have been accused in court of fraud.