Rural Calif. Hospital Worries About Survival If Obamacare Is Repealed
About a third of Palo Verde Hospital's patients are covered by the Medi-Cal program that was extended under the Affordable Care Act.
The Desert Sun:
A Small Hospital In The California Desert Fears The Worst From Obamacare Repeal
Palo Verde Hospital in Blythe offers some local care. Its 51 beds are more than enough for this city of about 20,000 people, a number bolstered by inmates in two state prisons. But the emergency department sees heavy use for such a small hospital — a rate of about one new patient every hour around the clock. A baby is born here every two or three days, on average, but high-risk deliveries are usually moved to another hospital two hours away. Now hospital officials fear Palo Verde, like other small, rural hospitals, won't be able to survive after a repeal of Obamacare, which offered them financial support in addition to giving more patients health insurance. (Newkirk, 7/20)
In other news —
KQED:
Sighs Of Relief From Health Safety-Net Providers In California After Senate Bill Collapses
Health care workers at California hospitals and clinics that serve low-income patients are relieved but still wary after the collapse of the Senate Republican health care bill earlier this week. The bill proposed deep funding cuts to Medicaid, which is called Medi-Cal in California and covers one out of three state residents. (Klivans, 7/20)