Editorial: Compromise Needed on Hospital Fee Legislation

"One of the least known but most important pieces of legislation being debated in California health care circles" is a bill by Assembly member Dave Jones to create a new hospital fee that the state would use to draw down additional federal funds for Medi-Cal, according to an editorial. It concludes, "The Legislature must find a way to compromise on capturing the matching funds to provide hospitals with needed relief while designating a portion of the money to do everything possible to keep the system whole in its time of crisis."

• "California Must Grab Medi-Cal Lifeline for Hospitals Treating the Poor" (San Jose Mercury News, 7/11).