(Sacramento, CA) — Healthcare managers in California are sounding the alarm after a new report suggests one in five hospitals in the state could be forced to close without immediate financial relief. The California Hospital Association commissioned the report which finds that total expenses for hospitals in the Golden State were more than 23-billion dollars higher in 2022 than before the pandemic. That outpaced any increase in revenues.
The closures could hit rural areas the hardest where the hospitals have a higher number of uninsured patients or those covered by Medi-Cal. CHA is asking Sacramento lawmakers for an emergency infusion of one-point-five-billion dollars in the short-term and an increase in Medi-Cal and Medicare rates going forward.