March 29th, 2011

The Scranton Times Tribune writes:

“Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed cuts to the chief government health care program for the poor could force local hospitals to lay off workers in one of the region’s top employment sectors that pays well, health care industry officials said Monday.

The cuts to Medicaid could also force nonprofit hospitals to choose which money-losing care programs to cut, forcing no-win choices between mental health or neonatal care, for example, the officials said. They are types of care for-profit hospitals will not pick up because of costs.

‘We believe these cuts will be devastating,’ said Paula A. Bussard, senior vice president for policy and regulatory services for the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. ‘We believe that it will create more instability (in health care) both in our rural communities, but also in the urban communities.’”

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