Los Angeles County Sees Surplus in Health Budget
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Monday approved a $21.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2007-2008, including $190 million for medical facilities, the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports.
Recipients of the $190 million include:
- Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center;
- Olive View-UCLA Medical Center for construction of a new emergency department; and
- Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for construction of new surgery quarters (AP/San Jose Mercury News, 6/18).
Supervisors also voted to spend $10 million to improve medical services for inmates.
David Janssen, county interim CEO, was ordered by the supervisors to prepare recommendations on whether the county should begin setting aside funds to pay for future retiree health care costs.
The county over the next 30 years faces a liability between $13 billion and $20 billion in retiree health costs, according to a recent report (Anderson, Los Angeles Daily News, 6/18).
County health officials said the county Department of Health Services will see a surplus of about $120 million because of changes in federal reimbursement for Medicare and savings from downsizing services at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital.
Health officials previously projected a budget shortfall (Leonard/Rosenblatt, Los Angeles Times, 6/19).