Menendez & Van Drew Are Working To Help Shore & Cape Regional

As a follow-up to yesterday’s report about Shore Medical Center and Cape Regional Medical Center, I can share some potentially good news.

As it presently stands, both of these two local hospitals would stand to miss out on substantial funding as a result of the global Coronavirus pandemic and government guidelines required to qualify.

Now, for the potential good news. Both United States Senator Robert Menendez and United States Congressman Jeff Van Drew are highly engaged and staunchly committed to help right this wrong.

The present funding guidelines require a hospital to have treated a minimum of 100 COVID-19 patients by April 10, 2020.

There are several different ways to potentially correct this injustice.

1. Move the April 10, 2020 qualifying date. It was arbitrary to begin with. Both Shore and Cape Regional have now treated more than 100 patients.

2. Each of these two local hospitals treated a number of likely COVID-19 patients in January, before testing was available. Simply count these in the total abd each would qualify.

3. There is a 2005 era law, “rural floor” rule.

New Jersey is one of only three states in the nation deemed to be “all urban.” This is patently unfair.

And, the use of the “rural floor” rule, whereby these and other hospitals, (Deborah Heart and Ling Center for example) have been able to qualify for Medicare and other financial remuneration over the years.

Senator Menendez was vitally important in the use of this “rural floor” rule in the past to help Shore Medical Center and other local hospitals, who otherwise would have been treated as urban hospitals.

The imputed rural floor, allows our local hospitals to be able to compete. Menendez and Van Drew have been the key Congressional champions helping our local hospitals wage this battle.

Menendez and Van Drew are not acting in a bi-partisan manner. It’s much better than that. They are working in a totally non-partisan fashion.

My sources cannot confirm that this important financial battle has been won. But, they are willing to confirm that it is presently looking good and appears to be on a very favorable track.

I’ll provide more updates as warranted.