Gov. Kathy Hochul for the second time vetoed a bill to give communities more warning before hospitals close, blocking a measure that health advocates say is critical as federal funding cuts threaten to push financially struggling hospitals toward shuttering.
Hochul refused to sign the Local Input in Community Healthcare, or LICH, Act on Friday, marking the second consecutive year that the governor rejected the legislation. The bill’s intent was to reform the often-opaque hospital closure process, which is largely left to hospitals and the state Department of Health. The LICH Act would have required hospitals to provide up to nine months of notice to the public if they decide to close entirely or shutter maternity, mental health or substance-use units. It would also have mandated that hospitals file closure plans and the impact of a closure on health equity to the Public Health and Health Planning Council, which holds hearings in the public eye.
The veto comes as hospitals brace for steep federal funding cuts under the Trump administration, raising fears that more facilities will close without giving communities time to prepare or seek alternatives. Approximately 70 of New York’s 156 hospitals are at risk of closure due to Medicaid cuts in H.R. 1, according to an analysis from the Fiscal Policy Institute.
Hochul rejected the measure because of the costs it could impose on the hospital industry, saying in a veto memo that the legislation “does not appropriately reflect the financial realities that struggling hospitals face, which are only expected to increase under the current federal administration.”
The powerful lobbying group Greater New York Hospital Association opposed the legislation. Ken Raske, the group’s president and CEO, said in a memo to members over the weekend that GNYHA opposed the bill because it would “paralyze health care transformation to the detriment of the communities [hospitals] serve.”
Sen. Gustavo Rivera, who chairs the health committee, expressed disappointment in the veto as health care facilities statewide continue to close without the input of surrounding communities. “We cannot continue to make closure decisions behind closed doors without assessing the impacts on the overall system, vulnerable patient communities and health care workers,” he said.
The veto comes a few weeks after the Department of Health released updated hospital closure guidance, which clarified existing protocols but did not increase public oversight. Hochul directed the agency to update hospital closure guidance when she vetoed the LICH Act last year, but advocates say the reforms still do not provide communities with enough transparency.
“We are going to need strong new government policies and action to give communities a meaningful say and protect patients as we brace for federal health funding cuts that could lead to more hospital closings and downsizing,” said Lois Uttley, who co-leads the advocacy group Community Voices for Health System Accountability. “In New York City, we will look to the new Mamdani administration for the kind of forward thinking and action we need.”
Hochul’s veto of the LICH Act was not the only health measure rejected last week. She also vetoed the New York Health Privacy Information Act, which would have required companies that collect and sell health care information but who are not covered by HIPAA – including health and fitness apps or wearable device makers – to get consent from users before using their health information.
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