[NRSKarenRN]

Hospital to shut doors, marking sixth Los Angeles County ER to close in 2004
Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center in Hawthorne, Calif., has announced that it will shut down on December 31, becoming the sixth Los Angeles County ER in 2004 to close its doors because of financial problems. The move will force patients to find another hospital just as the flu season hits and underscores the strain facing the county's teetering emergency medical system.


Los Angeles Times, Sept. 24, 2004

[Sheri257]

It's been all over talk radio here in SoCal. Basically, they're blaming illegal immigration since, apparently, that's the majority of uninsured who are putting these ER's out of business. With these closures, everybody's been screaming for more enforcement to run illegals out of the country.

But I also see a lot of hypocrisy here. I have friends who employ illegals because they like the cheap labor. Everybody complains when illegals cost them money or services (like ER's) but there are many Californians who save a ton of money by employing illegals as gardeners, housekeepers, nannies, construction workers, etc., particularly since they don't have pay health benefits.

The radio talk show hosts like to blame the big agricultural corporations but, really, they're not the only ones taking advantage of the cheap labor. And, the big corporations wouldn't hire illegals if people didn't demand cheaper prices. It's a vicious cycle.

In the end, I guess you have to go back to cutting off services to the uninsured. Otherwise there won't be any ER's left. Either way, the choices are horrible, since many people will be denied health care no matter what choice you make.

It's a difficult problem but, it will probably only get worse. Illegals wouldn't come here and flood the ER's if Californians weren't employing them off the books. Unless you can remove the economic incentive (which will never happen) that's the bottom line, and it's not likely to change.

[oramar]

One congressperson, I forget which one, proposes a bill that makes anyone who employs an illegal immigrant responsible for their medical bills. I thought that was an interesting proposal. Raises a host of other problems.

[redshiloh]

How many EDs are left in LA county? Are there even enough to serve the population? If not, where do they send people?

[Sheri257]

Originally Posted by redshiloh

How many EDs are left in LA county? Are there even enough to serve the population? If not, where do they send people?

That's one of the reasons there's been so many closures. As soon as one shuts down, the others are flooded with the uninsured, prompting them to lose more money and shut down too. That's why you're seeing a domino effect with closures.

[NurseRatchett]

Lizz is right........
There are only so many ER's to go around, and once this one closes all of the other hospitals in the area will be over flooded. Lots of patients will loose out on care, hospitals are already understaffed and over worked........
It's a no win situation unless serious changes are made.

[pickledpepperRN]

http://www.calnurse.org/press/deblettertosfchron.html

This Editorial from Deborah Burger, RN, CNA President, was published in the The San Francisco Chronicle on Sept 23, 2004
Keep hospitals open
Editor -- Closures of hospitals and emergency rooms are indeed a growing problem in California. Regrettably, too often they are the result of a corporate hospital industry that prefers to shift services to fewer and fewer sites; to increase market share and profits rather than assure continuation of needed medical care for the public well-being.
The announced closure of San Jose Medical Center is a case in point. The hospital is owned by HCA, the world's largest for-profit hospital chain, which last year racked up more than $1.3 billion in profits, hardly a sign of financial distress.

A bill, AB2874, creates a process to provide local communities the time they need to set up a local health-care district to protect the public safety. The governor should sign it.

DEBORAH BURGER
President, California Nurses Assn.
-------------------------------

In spite of thousands of nurses, doctors, and paients e-mails and snailmail the Governor vetoed the bill.

[pickledpepperRN]

Governor sides with hospitals, insurance firms

By Ann E. Marimow
Mercury News Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday sided with hospital and insurance interests in a series of health-related bills, taking a hands-off approach to how these heavily regulated industries conduct business.

The Republican governor vetoed legislation bitterly opposed by for-profit insurers that would have required all providers to include prenatal and maternity coverage in their basic plans.

``Mandating Californians to purchase new benefits is counterproductive to efforts to make health insurance more affordable and available to low- to moderate-income people,'' he wrote in his veto message.

The bill's author Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, criticized the governor's action as discriminating against women who cannot afford maternity care.

``This is a serious setback for women's health in California,'' Speier said in a news release. The veto ``allows insurers to drop maternity care from basic coverage, in order to sell lucrative low-cost policies to target populations.''

Speier's bill (SB 1555) received support from some Republican legislators, but opponents said it would drive up premiums in the individual health insurance market.
On the issue of hospitals, Schwarzenegger rejected three bills that were at the top of the hospital industry's ``oppose'' list, including legislation aimed at reducing large hospital bills for low-income, uninsured patients. The bill (SB 379) by Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, would have required hospitals to provide discounted rates.
Although he said he was concerned about the high cost of health care, Schwarzenegger's veto message said hospitals should have time to implement voluntary guidelines.

The governor also vetoed two bills that would have required hospitals and emergency rooms to provide lengthy warning before closing and would have penalized those that did not. The governor's action on all three bills angered consumer advocates.

``You can see a pattern here of the governor saying kind words about the need to recognize the interests of consumers, but then his actions side with hospitals who overcharge, hospitals that close with very little notice and insurance companies that engage in predatory behavior by marketing health insurance that does not include maternity care,'' said Beth Capell, policy consultant for Health Access, a consumer advocacy group.

The bills by Assemblyman Manny Diaz, D-San Jose, (AB 2874) and Sen. Bob Margett, R-Diamond Bar, (SB 1540) responded to financially troubled hospitals closing around the state. This month, San Jose Medical Center abruptly announced it would close in December, instead of three years from now as planned.

Jan Emerson, a spokeswoman for the hospital lobby's California Healthcare Association, praised Schwarzenegger for ``recognizing that the hospital industry is in a crisis and we need help.''
``Passing bills that serve to penalize hospitals does nothing to improve patient care or help hospitals stay open,'' she said.

In other action Wednesday:
Schwarzenegger signed SB 1234 by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles, to broaden the definition of a hate-crime victim to include people who are targeted because of their association with protected groups.

He vetoed AB 2644 by Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza, D-Carson, intended to reduce air pollution by prohibiting excessive idling by school buses.

Mercury News Staff Writer Barbara Feder Ostrov contributed to this report