Hospitals and ERs Being Forced to Make Very Difficult Choices

California’s community hospitals and emergency rooms provide life-saving care to anyone needing it, despite their ability to pay for the health care services received. Last year, California's community hospitals provided more than $12 billion of uncompensated care. Of that total, $3.8 billion of charity care and other uninsured health care services were provided by hospitals to their patients and to their communities. Despite a growing recession, hospitals are there for patients when they need them most.

• California's community hospitals are not resistant to the negative impacts of the current economic recession. Hospitals are struggling with deteriorating revenues and increases in bad debt, and they are having to make very difficult choices to reduce services, make staff reductions, or close services altogether. 

• Adding to the financial tightrope for hospitals is California's growing unemployment rate - now exceeding 12 percent and one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. As more Californians lose their jobs and health insurance, people are relying more and more on California’s ERs for basic health care services which is driving up the cost of care for everyone.

• As the recession continues, a report from Moody's Investors Service says that the signs of recovery are mixed for certain sectors, including hospitals, that will continue to "face significant political, economic, financial and capital market uncertainties."