‘Safety-net’ hospitals ask for money infusion

Companies operating so-called “safety-net” hospitals in partnership with the state have requested an additional $100 million from the state in the upcoming fiscal year than last year, further complicating the state’s budget picture as it grapples with a $600 million shortfall and hospitals in danger of closing without new revenue.  
The head of the Department of Health and Hospitals told the House Appropriations Committee Monday that public-private hospitals throughout the state will need revenue from another special session to stay open and avoid losing thousands of jobs and medical services to the public, particularly the indigent and those without health insurance.  
DHH officials and Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne could not provide specifics to House Appropriation members on specifics of the contracts currently being negotiated, but said hospital partners asked for $1.3 billion from the state for the upcoming fiscal year, up from $1.2 billion this year.  
Republican Delegation Chair Lance Harris, who pushed back against some of Gov. John Bel Edwards’ tax-increasing proposals in the first special session, questioned why certain hospitals, like the one in his district, Rapides Regional Medical Center in Alexandria, would be closed under the budget proposed by Edwards instead of spreading out cuts equally across all hospitals.  
“The hospital in Alexandria is decapitated,” Harris said.  
But DHH Secretary Rebekah Gee indicated those partners would walk from their contracts if the cuts were spread out among all hospitals.  
Gee reiterated that hospitals would need money from more tax increases in the special session Edwards plans to call in early June immediately following the regular session, which must end no later than June 6.
Not only do hospitals need to provide health care, but they provide thousands of jobs throughout the state, she said. “[Current cuts] are a big problem for communities around that state that are facing the possibility of a lack of funding.”  
Committee members also questioned the efficiency of the private-public partnerships and the savings from Medicaid, which helped lessen the budget shortfall the state faces from $750 million to $600 million for the 2016-2017 fiscal year.  
“These [contracts] were done, in my opinion, too quickly, without an idea of what was best,” Gee said.