There are two hospitals in Inyo County, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. Local and state officials say that in a few weeks, it may come down to one.
CEO Dr. Kevin Flanigan told Calmatters that as of December 12, the Inyo Healthcare District in the south is a 37-bed hospital located in Lone Pine with eight days of cash on hand. Local officials have sent a letter asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to urgently secure $3 million to stabilize his financial situation, but hospitals may have to severely cut services and staff or shut down completely by the end of the year.
“If they don’t pass, no one else will pass…the board will make some very difficult decisions,” Frannigan said.
According to a recent hospital, the hospital usually has over 200 days of cash on hand KFF Analysis. Hospitals with less than 80 days of cash on hand are considered “very fragile” of the “financial crisis.”
Inyo Healthcare District is located in a small town on the base of Mount Whitney, in a small town on Mount Whitney, and is the only hospital in a nearly 60-mile radius. This is the closest stop for injured hikers and dehydrated tourists visiting Whitney or nearby Death Valley, and regularly receives 1 million visitors each year. Without it, there will be a 136-mile extension between the next nearest hospitals in eastern Nevada.
The financial trouble for hospitals is that rural hospitals across the country face rising labor and supply-related costs, which are expected to decline in the future due to cuts in Medicaid income. Three weeks ago Glen Medical CenterIt is the only hospital in Glen County, Northern California, and he said it will be closed in October.
Conference raisers David Tipa (R-Fresno), State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson) and Inyo County Supervisor said in a letter to Newsom that the hospital faces a short-term deficit and that single-use infusion from the state will be enough to stabilize the facility in the long term.
“If the doors are closed, thousands of seniors and rural Californians will be left without access to critical health care, creating a real medical desert in another area of the state,” the letter said.
Sami Gallegos, a spokesman for the California Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that the government is working with the southern Inyo Healthcare area to speed up payments “whatever possible” in hospitals.
“Our priority is to ensure that Californians in all regions of the state have access to quality, equitable health care,” Gallegos said.
She did not address whether the government could make an emergency cash injection request from the hospital.
Flanigan said at a board meeting Tuesday that the hospital had about $2 million in unpaid bills. The hospital has received about $11,000 in medical services since seeking help from the state.
“It’s a little thing, but it’s important,” he said. “It helps us make money.”
Will Wadelton, county supervisor covering the hospital area, said the county has no money to save the hospital.
“We are looking for all other options to retain the hospital solvent,” Wardleton said, including soliciting donations and hoping for state intervention.
It is unclear how lawmakers can quickly pay the money to hospitals. Local officials asked for emergency funds on the last day of the legislative session, meaning the state’s checkbook will not be adjusted until lawmakers reconsider it in January.
Frangan said he still hopes the hospital can find a solution.
Flanigan, who served as CEO four weeks ago, said the hospital’s horrible financial strait was overshadowed by the remaining currency, a Covid-19-19 pandemic. At the time, the federal government invested billions of dollars in health care to help hospitals and other facilities maintain, while costs rose and other sources of revenue fell. State agencies receive more than $100.9 billion In 2021, support health services while counties and cities receive additional funds to assist local responses.
Flanigan said the state’s emergency funding will give him time to reduce operating costs to sustainable levels and allow the facility to earn the additional revenue expected in January to maintain the hospital for a long time.
“With this funding, I will be able to adjust the operation of the hospital without disruption and the highest chance of success,” Frannigan said.
He said the $50 billion rural health fund from the Republican “a large bill” prevented Conservative MPs from rural countries from helping the southern Iyo Healthcare District.
In Northern California, Glen Health’s financial difficulties began with the “critical access” status of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (a special designation for qualified rural hospitals), which cost it 40% of its revenue.
The Inyo Healthcare district in the south is also a key hospital for treatment.
“For us, it’s crucial for us not to close another rural hospital.”
Hwang writes for Calmatters, where Report Originally appeared.
