Contra Costa County Slashes Health Spending in Latest Round of Cuts
On Tuesday, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors approved almost $50 million in cuts to county general fund spending, with more than 60% of the reductions hitting health care and social services, the Contra Costa Times reports.
As a result of Tuesday's cuts, Contra Costa County will eliminate nonemergency services for undocumented immigrants to save about $6 million.
At the meeting, Supervisor John Gioia raised the possibility of seeking a law that would require not-for-profit hospitals to report charity care they provide as part of an effort to encourage the facilities to help "carry their weight" of treating people who cannot afford health care services.
The Big Picture
The spending cuts will leave the county health department with a deficit of $8.6 million that department head William Walker hopes to address using money from the federal economic stimulus package.
The county has cut spending by more than $90 million since May 2008 (Gafni, Contra Costa Times, 3/17).
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