"… The feds are not being clear [about] whether Long Beach Medical will be eligible for Sandy relief funds in the wake of an inevitable takeover or merger,” Schumer said at a press conference at LBMC. “As it stands right now, that significant pot of disaster relief money will not be available to the hospital’s likely new potential operator, South Nassau Communities Hospital, because SNCH was not the entity that suffered significant damage during the storm. Without assurances that this money will be available, it’s unlikely that any acquisition of LBMC and its assets will go through.”

Schumer said that Shah has made it clear that the state will not support the accreditation of a full-service hospital at LBMC, something hospital officials were lobbying for after the very public imbroglio with Shah last summer. Schumer said that if FEMA refuses to approve the money for SNCH, it could potentially derail an agreement between the two hospitals and prevent the return of medical services.

“If the money is not going to be forthcoming, why would South Nassau want to enter into a deal?” said one hospital official who asked not to be named. 

In a letter to FEMA Administrator W. Craig Fugate, Schumer urged him to approve the funding, explaining that FEMA must issue an “advisory opinion” to allow the funds to be transferred to SNCH. “Since it is unclear whether the new hospital operator will be eligible to receive these federal funds, it has been difficult for an actual merger agreement to be reached,” Schumer wrote. “All FEMA has to do is make funding available to the hospital’s next owner, and they have to issue an advisory opinion, which is essentially a clarification and adjustment to the rules that are in place,” he told reporters on Monday. “That advisory opinion will make it clear to all parties involved that the $100 million LBMC is rightfully owed will not disappear if the hospital’s assets are purchased by another hospital.”