Tag: long island nonprofits

This is a challenging time for nonprofits, especially those that offer support services to people in need. At a time when demand for mental and behavioral healthcare continues to rise, funding cuts are making it difficult for organizations to keep pace.

That was the sentiment of Long Island Business News’ State of the Long Island Nonprofit Industry, held at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury Thursday morning.

“We’re in an unprecedented time right now, where the needs are going up and the resources are going down, and as organizations that serve individuals with mental health issues, we’re all struggling to find the right mix of how to do more with less,” said Lisa Burch, chief executive of EPIC Family of Human Service Agencies, and a panelist at Thursday’s breakfast.

The panel was moderated by Brian Sackstein, partner and leader of Anchin’s Not-For-Profit & Healthcare Group, as well as Dylan Saperman and Rachel Fernbach, both of whom are partners at Moritt Hock & Hamroff.

In addition to Burch, panelists included Neela Mukherjee Lockel, president and chief executive of EAC Network, and David Nemiroff, president and chief executive of Harmony Healthcare Long Island.

This year’s panel included a focus on mental health, substance use and the insurance factors that shape access to care, while examining how rising healthcare costs affect nonprofits and the broader community. The discussion also highlighted how reimbursement shortfalls strain providers.

“We need to talk to elected officials and do all that work to make sure they understand that if we’re not able to have the funding … the reimbursement that we get for some of those services is just not sustainable,” Burch said. “We’re all trying to be creative and we’re all looking for different ways to meet those needs.”

Sackstein pointed out that President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy agenda, known officially as H.R. 1, or the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” will “come into effect in 2027.” The agenda “really leads to potential cuts across the board,” Sackstein said.

“It will directly impact everybody that we serve,” Burch said, adding that “90 percent of our revenue comes from Medicaid. Every single individual who lives in one of our group homes or attends our day program relies on Medicaid.”

Nemiroff said that 450,000 New Yorkers are expected to lose the state’s Essential Plan health insurance, after funding cuts from the federal budget. Those cuts will impact between 3,000 and 5,000 Harmony Healthcare patients. In addition to seeking new grants this year, the organization is planning “three fundraising events to close the gap because it’s that big,” he said.

Borrowing a phrase from her chief operations officer, Lockel said that EAC “braids different financing supports,” referring to grants, contracts, philanthropic support and more.

The organization, she said, is “super lean” because “our priority is really meeting the need of our communities, and trying to figure out how we cannot end up in a place of no.” That means “trying to pull resources, and collaborate with other organizations to figure out who can do which parts of this kind of service for the communities we’re serving,” she said.

Nemiroff said Harmony Healthcare is exploring partnerships with other organizations, including Nassau University Medical Center. “We think we could save them money. It would be mutually beneficial to work together. There’s something that we do better on the outpatient side. And we think there’s a ‘there there’ for them to succeed.” Harmony Healthcare has formed such partnerships with some of Long Island’s health systems, he said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Lockel said, “has really done a great job of trying to backfill a lot of wholes that are popping up, or looking for ways to help us do that.” But, she added, “every pot of money is going to run out until we prioritize people’s health and the care of our community.”

Right now organizations are looking at staffing, Burch said. “We know that cuts are coming, and there’s no way New York State’s going to make up for the shortfall.”

Investing in preventative care, Nemiroff said, would go a long way in reducing inpatient care. “You wouldn’t have to wait for the crisis,” he said, adding that an emergency room visit could run $5,000 to $15,000. “Emergency rooms have to serve that person, even if they’re undocumented,” he said, adding that the bills go to the state. “We’re paying for it in our taxes, one way or the other.”

Sharing stories – including those about mental health, which still carries a stigma, and those about the challenges nonprofits face at a time of shifting federal cuts  – is important, even for those who think they won’t be impacted, the panel agreed.

“Sitting in an ivory tower and pretending it’s not affecting you – it’s a false scenario, Lockel said, referring to potential impacts colleagues, employees and neighbors. “It’s going to hit everybody really hard at some point.”