Hospital funding cutback is feared

Sac Bee ^ | 8/11/02 | Jim Miller

[NormsRevenge]

California hospitals that treat large numbers of poor patients would lose tens of millions of dollars in government aid if federal officials refuse to renew approval of a state health care program.

More than $300 million over two years for so-called safety-net hospitals, many of them in the Central Valley, is at stake.

[Militiaman7]

How much is spent on illegals?

I doubt if Mexico would drain their treasury caring for sick Americans.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

They won't spend the money to care for poor, sick Mexicans. That's why they come here.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

could cause longer waits in emergency rooms.

On a good day your wait could be 2 hours(right now). On a bad day it could be 7-13 hours. I am not kidding.

Basically all the patients seen in those clinics have no insurance or are on Medi-Cal

Medi-Cal does not pay. Virtually every hospital in the state is at risk. I can't count the number of times I've had a Medi-Cal card shoved under my nose with a request made in a foreign language. Now let's just assume these people are 'legal' (I know most are not). When my mother came to this country years ago her family was required to have a job waiting and a sponsor to insure they did not become a burden on the state. What happened??!!

[GaryMontana]

Time for the USA to say.

If you are not a tax paying US citizen you do not get free health care.

If you think you can have an operation or a hospilaization at the expense of the American tax payer YOU ARE WRONG.

No more free medical treatment to illegal aliens.

[GaryMontana]

If You are an alien legal or illegal you do not get free medical care! If you don't like it than return to the country of your origin.

Why should hard working Americans have to pay for everyone who never contributed to the system! We did not ask these people to come here. We did not put a gun to their head and say COME TO THE USA!

It costs the USA 24 billion a year to take care of illegal aliens. Time to move the USA troops out of Germany and have them guard our boundries.

The illegal aliens are draining our budgets. They are here breaking the law. Time to send them back where they are from. If they don't like it TOO DAMN BAD

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

The Medi-Cal population, legal and illegal, has a sense of entitlement that is astounding. They expect high quality, rapid health care and money for meals and transportation. Seriously.

I remember one young mother who had no way to deliver a urine specimen back to the lab. It had been ordered by the clinic where her child had been seen. She called 911. The medics could not deny her and she came through the ER sitting on a guerney holding this urine cup. That was a 500 dollar taxi ride at taxpayer expense. They don't have to pay a dime so they don't care. They have no shame.

[Betty Jane]

California hospitals that treat large numbers of poor patients would lose tens of millions of dollars in government aid if federal officials refuse to renew approval of a state health care program.

Sounds like this shouldn't be federal issue. If this program is so important to Californians, let them find the money elsewhere. Oh, I forgot. Gray Davis drove the state into debt.

[DoughtyOne]

I'm not going to deny that illegal aliens place dire strain on these hospital's resources, but the fact is if those hospitals go under, it won't only be them but US citizans in those areas that are going to be hard pressed to find adequate healthcare. That's what I've been saying all along.

The illegals have essentially tapped an industry that was already at the breaking point. That's why your healthcare has been jeopardized. And if the Feds do cut this support hospitals will go under and US Citizens will lose their healthcare provider. At best any of these hospitals that can stay open, will have an elevated non-compensated exposure that can do nothing but jeopardize their viability to the breaking point.

Now, California "MUST" serve any person who presents at the hospital ER by law. This means the strain on remaining hospitals will be just that much more acute.

[glc1173@aol.com]

"The Medi-Cal population, legal and illegal, has a sense of entitlement that is astounding. They expect high quality, rapid health care and money for meals and transportation. Seriously."

Comes with being a minority on welfare in the ultimate welfare state outside of Europe except for Canuckistan!

[DoughtyOne]

No offense, but LOL. Betty, who is in charge of the borders. California has upwards of five million illegals within it's borders. You tell me if California should be demanded to pay for them. If California put it's national guard on the border they'd be federalized within ten minutes and ordered home. So please tell who should foot the bill for illegals.

[DoughtyOne]

Proposition 187. Hey the 9th Circuit Court said no way.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Should this be an issue for the November election ?

How is Davis going to handle this soon to happen event?

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[DoughtyOne]

Gary that $24 billion figure sounds like a lot of money. It's nowhere near the right amount IMO. LAUSD alone spends over $3 billion per year to school them. Imagine how many other school systems there are in California. Then Arizon, New Mexico, Texas... Then think healthcare. One patient can cost hospitals anywhere from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand dollars. I've seen some cases that ran up to one half a million. Then think the other states for healthcare too. We're talkin a lot of money!

[NormsRevenge]

"The state's waiver was scheduled to expire last week, but the federal government extended it until Oct. 1."

Should this be an issue for the November election ? YES

The timing would seem to fall within the election window. It should get a lot of coverage as the medical facilities turn folks away.. Illegals or otherwise.

GraYout has some bad karma!!! LOL

[NormsRevenge]

How is Davis going to handle this soon to happen event?

Depends ..Of Course !!! :-)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ROFLM***!!!

[babygene]

"If California put it's national guard on the border they'd be federalized within ten minutes and ordered home. So please tell who should foot the bill for illegals."

Until they do that and ARE sent home, California should pay the bill...

People in other states have their medical costs to wory about without worying about Californias

[babygene]

And another thing... California should have considered the cost of all of the illegals before they instituted Medi-Cal.

We dont have a "Med-ID" in Idaho. Why should we pay for California's dumb ideas.

[DoughtyOne]

People in other states have their medical costs to wory about without worying about Californias

That's right.  And if California loses their federal dollars, guess who's state is next.  Your state gets those dollars too.  How many of your local hospitals are you willing to see the doors close at?  Your state may not be as inundated as California is, but just about every state has a problem.  The border states are very exposed.

Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California would have a severe problem if your idea of fairness were implemented.  Should those states citizens just pop up at your state's hospitals for free care like they had to give away for years?  I guess you realize that if any people from other states showed up at your E.R.s your hospitals would have to take them in.  Otherwise they would lose their federal contracts.  How are you going to like it?

We're generally talking matching dollars here.  California would only get $50,000 after it spent a like amount, so the feds don't even pick up the tab as it is.