| It’s been roughly six months since lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul allocated $100 million in operating aid to SUNY Downstate, but the hospital has yet to see any of that money be released, POLITICO’s Katelyn Cordero reports. The funds had some strings attached: a financial plan for the money that requires approval by the state Division of Budget. SUNY says it’s working with the Division of Budget to craft that plan, but as of Thursday it had not been submitted. In the meantime, SUNY Downstate is using the limited cash funds it has available and implementing temporary cost-cutting measures, such as putting aside purchases unrelated to patient care and deferring payments. “SUNY is working with Downstate Hospital to ensure it can meet its day-to-day financial obligations and put in place a viable, short-term financial plan to utilize the $100 million in operating support included in the FY 2025 Budget,” SUNY spokesperson Holly Liapis said in a statement. She added that SUNY is working with the Division of Budget to complete the financial plan but did not say when it will be submitted. “We look forward to the recommendations from the community advisory board for investing up to $750 million in additional capital funding to secure a strong and sustainable future for Downstate,” she added. The fight for SUNY Downstate has been a long and contentious one that picked up steam this year when SUNY laid out plans to close the hospital's main building and move inpatient services across the street to Kings County Hospital. Hochul also proposed a $300 million capital allocation that SUNY said it would use to build a new facility for outpatient and academic services in a nearby vacant lot. The so-called “transformation” of the hospital angered advocates for the institution, who deemed it a closure. The hospital’s union, community members and political representatives made passionate pleas for the process to be put on pause so that the community, employees and experts in the field could weigh in. A final deal in the 2025 budget allocated $100 million in operating aid and up to $750 million in capital funds. The use of the capital funds will be decided by an advisory board that was expected to meet this month but experienced delays due to background checks for members. The nine-person committee, which is expected to be announced in the coming weeks, will hold public hearings for community members in central Brooklyn, hospital staff and experts in the field. The group will look at the health care infrastructure in the area and determine what resources are needed for the hospital’s next iteration. IN OTHER NEWS: — State Attorney General Letitia James joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in announcing $49.1 million in settlements on Friday with drugmakers Heritage Pharmaceuticals and Apotex over allegations of price fixing for more than 100 different generic drugs. “The companies involved in this scheme engaged in a massive conspiracy to illegally coordinate prices, driving up costs for consumers as much as 1,000 percent,” James said in a statement. “These two settlements will help enable the victims of this scheme to get compensation, and will hopefully ensure this type of illegal price fixing will not happen again." ON THE AGENDA: — Monday at 9 a.m. The NYC Health + Hospitals board of directors’ medical and professional affairs/information technology committee meets, followed by a meeting of the capital committee. GOT TIPS? Send story ideas and feedback to Maya Kaufman at mkaufman@politico.com and Katelyn Cordero at kcordero@politico.com. Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
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