Kern Valley Hospital and other hospitals like it could become another casualty in the country’s worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

The Budget Act of 2011, signed by Governor Brown on March 24, includes a reduction to Medi-Cal reimbursement rates for SNFs that are distinct parts of hospitals. Medi-Cal rates for these facilities will be reduced another 10 percent – rates that were applicable in the 2008-09 rate year.