SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — Lou Ingrassia (R) and Paula Kay (D), the two candidates for the 100th Assembly District, recently spoke with the River Reporter about how they would address health care in Sullivan County. 

Aileen Gunther, the current Assemblymember for the district, who will retire this year after over two decades in office, helped organize a recent September 5 “town hall”-style meeting for residents to speak with leadership from Garnet Health, the operator of the only hospital in the county.

“Election time is coming. We all need to think about where we need to place our votes in order to get a lot of these issues cared for,” said one attendee. 

Both Ingrassia and Kay say that health care in Sullivan county is “paramount,” and an “absolute priority.” 

Lou Ingrassia (R)

Ingrassia suggested “equaliz[ing] the reimbursement rate,” and asked why a county with historically poor health rankings has low insurance reimbursement rates. “There’s got to be a failure somewhere because until that happens nothing will

will change, because at the end of the day, you got to follow the money,” he said. 

“What are we doing for the state, local, and federal level to bring [up] that reimbursement level? Because until that happens, no money’s going to come up this way.” Ingrassia said. 

He said he does not know how to do that but that it is a “definite priority to find out.”

Health services will be available where there is a higher insurance reimbursement rate, he added. “I understand both sides.”

Sullivan County’s hospital has become a “triage center,” Ingrassia said, “and I understand the business side of it; they can’t afford to keep people working if in fact they are not getting reimbursed.” 

See here for more information on Sullivan County’s reimbursement rate. 

Paula Kay (D)

It’s about the people, Kay said. “The problem there, sounds like, is the hospital isn’t able to appropriately recruit and so [staffers are] overworked.” In order to fill provider vacancies, she said, “We’ve got to find attainable housing, which is really high on my list, and that’s a collaborative effort between our biggest employers, which includes the hospitals and the Center for Discovery.”

Kay added, “It’s not just about health care, it’s about education, childcare, housing, and working collaboratively across the aisle to make sure that we all support each other.”

“If you’re a physician, with a young family, and you’re looking at Sullivan County, those are things you want to look at. And so we have to kind of work together to address all these issues,” she says.