Health Chief Predicts Higher Patient Loads at L.A. Hospitals
On Tuesday, Mitch Katz -- head of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services -- said he foresees overcrowding problems within the county's public hospital system continuing beyond 2014, when the federal health reform law will expand insurance coverage. Katz cited research out of Massachusetts that indicated use of safety-net services rose after the state enacted a near-universal health insurance law in 2006.
- "No End In Sight for Overcrowding at L.A. County Public Hospitals, New Chief Says" (Lin, "L.A. Now," Los Angeles Times, 3/22).