Stony Brook Medicine Leadership Advances Federal Priorities in Washington Meetings with New York Delegation

Executive Vice President of Stony Brook Medicine William Wertheim, MDmet with Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), and staff from the offices of Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY), Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) in Washington, D.C. on March 25.

Wertheim was in Washington to advance Stony Brook Medicine's FY27 federal priorities, including the academic medical center's Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) requests, making critical reforms to J-1 and H-1B visa pathways to address healthcare workforce shortages and advocating for sustained, robust investment in biomedical research. He emphasized the urgency and national impact of these issues, underscoring how federal partnership is essential to maintaining access to high-quality care and driving innovation.

In each meeting, Wertheim also conveyed sincere appreciation for the offices' leadership and support in securing the Section 203 Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) formula fix in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, a critical win for safety-net hospitals that was successfully enacted in February.

Senate meetings centered on advancing Stony Brook Medicine's FY27 CDS requests, with a particular focus on two high-impact projects to expand ambulatory outpatient surgical capacity. Wertheim underscored the strategic importance of shifting appropriate procedures, such as joint replacements, to outpatient settings, a move that would alleviate pressure on inpatient operating rooms, reduce wait times and improve overall patient throughput at the main campus. He also highlighted how federal support for the acquisition of a state-of-the-art surgical robot would enhance precision, increase surgical efficiency and expand access to timely care for patients across Long Island. These proposals are currently under active consideration by Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand for potential inclusion in the FY27 federal health funding appropriations bill.

In addition to advancing Stony Brook Medicine's CDS requests, Wertheim engaged extensively with both House and Senate staff on the urgent need for a renewed federal commitment to strengthening and expanding the healthcare workforce. He outlined the real-world impacts of persistent workforce shortages on patient access and system capacity, and emphasized targeted policy solutions, including addressing barriers in J-1 and H-1B visa pathways for foreign-born clinicians, increasing federal education loan limits for medical and health professions students and lifting caps on Medicare-funded Graduate Medical Education (GME) residency slots.

Wertheim reinforced that without decisive federal action in these areas, health systems like Stony Brook Medicine will continue to face growing challenges in recruiting, training and retaining the workforce needed to meet rising patient demand.

"I was pleased to be in Washington to personally thank our NY federal delegation for their support of Stony Brook Medicine, specifically Rep. LaLota, Sen. Gillibrand and Sen. Schumer for their incredible leadership in fixing the devastating Sec. 203 Medicaid DSH formula. The Senators and Congressman were able to insert a provision to nullify the Medicaid DSH formula in the health-related funding bill earlier this year. Had the updated Medicaid DSH formula not been repealed, it would have cost Stony Brook University Hospital $53 million in reduced revenue per year," said Wertheim. "I thank the Long Island Congressional delegation for their support on the Sec. 203 issue, and look forward to continuing to work together by turning our attention to other important matters that impact our health system like workforce, health research funding and our first CDS requests."

Located in our nation's capital, Stony Brook University's Office of Federal Relationscoordinated these meetings and will lead sustained follow-up engagement with the delegation to advance the priorities discussed. While these conversations focused on key health care issues, the Office maintains a comprehensive and coordinated federal strategy, working in close partnership with the New York congressional delegation, federal agencies and the Administration to advocate for both the hospital system and the broader university.