CenterLight: Take care of the nurses who take care of your patients! 

CenterLight Cuts Off Nurses’ Healthcare 

Nurses at CenterLight Healthcare are advocating for better working conditions and improved care for their elderly patients. They are fighting for a new union contract with strong wages and no cuts to healthcare and have faced repeated delays and resistance from management. On Dec. 31, 2024, management unlawfully cut off their health insurance after nurses refused to accept an “offer” that would have quadrupled their health care costs! 

 

Prioritizing Executive Salaries and Marketing Over Patient Care 

CenterLight's President and CEO, Tara Buonocore-Rut, made over $1.5 million in 2023 in total compensation from Centerlight and related organizations [1] and CenterLight spent almost $1.5 million in “advertising and promotion” in that same year [2]. Just last month, CenterLight spent thousands in ads to promote their CEO’s image as a “trailbrazer” in healthcare [3]. Meanwhile, CenterLight management has refused to negotiate a fair contract and has cut off the healthcare of the nurses who work diligently to provide care for their patients. Patients and nurses deserve better.  

 

A History of Shady Business Practices That Hurts Healthcare Workers and Patients 

Throwing nurses off their healthcare isn’t the first time CenterLight has broken the law. In 2016, CenterLight was forced to pay a $47 million settlement to resolve state and federal allegations that it fraudulently billed Medicaid for services it did not provide to more than 1,200 recipients [4]. In 2018, CenterLight paid an additional $10 million in fines to settle state and federal allegations that its former managed long-term care plan, "CenterLight MLTCP,” submitted fraudulent requests to New York’s Medicaid program for monthly premiums and failed to repay Medicaid for falsely obtained payments [5].  

 

Homecare Nurses Deserve a Fair Contract! Sign the Petition. 

Homecare nurses are the backbone of CenterLight Healthcare and provide excellent, specialized care for some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers. It's time CenterLight reinstates nurses' healthcare and negotiates a fair contract now! Sign the petition to support CenterLight nurses.

 

Sources: 

1. Centerlight Healthcare Inc., 990, 2023.  

2. Centerlight Healthcare Inc, 990, 2023. Part IX - Statement of Functional Expenses, Section 11 - fees for services  

3. City and State ad rates Trailblazers in Healthcare. January, 2025

4. A.G. Schneiderman Announces $47 Million Settlement With Centerlight Healthcare For Fraudulently Using Social Day Care Centers To Enroll Ineligible Members  

5. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $10 Million Settlement Of Civil Fraud Lawsuit Against Centerlight Healthcare For Collecting Medicaid Payments For Services Often Not Provided To Adult Home Residents