<\/p>\n
A protest earlier this month in Anaheim, co-led by the California Nurses Assn., called on Rep. Young Kim (R-Anaheim Hills) to vote against President Trump\u2019s spending bill. <\/p>\n
(Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
This month, the county public health department lost another $16 million after Trump\u2019s bill cut funding for a program educating food stamp recipients about how to buy healthy meals.<\/p>\n
And there\u2019s more to come. The Trump administration\u2019s proposed budget for 2026 will be the biggest blow yet, Ferrer warned, yanking $200 million from her department \u2014 a 12% cut.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m old. I\u2019ve been around for a long time,\u201d said Ferrer, whose work in public health dates back to the Reagan administration. \u201cI\u2019ve never actually seen this much disdain for public health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ferrer said the cuts mean she no longer has enough money for the county\u2019s bioterrorism watch program, which monitors for outbreaks that might signal a biological attack<\/a>. Soon, she said, county officials may have to stop testing ocean water for toxins year round, cutting back to just half the year. <\/p>\n \u201cLike, you want to swim? You want to know that the water is safe where you swim, then oppose these kinds of cuts,\u201d she said. \u201cThat affects everybody who goes to the beach.\u201d <\/p>\n L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said she is bracing for $200 million in cuts to her budget.<\/p>\n (Al Seib\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Layoffs are likely, said Ferrer. About 1,500 public health staffers are supported through federal grants. More than half the federal money the department receives is funneled to outside organizations, which would likely need to make cuts to stay afloat. <\/p>\n A similarly grim cost analysis is underway at the county Department of Health Services, where executives said they expect to lose $280 million this fiscal year because of the bill. <\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t make a promise that we will be able to avoid layoffs because of the magnitude of the challenges,\u201d said Ghaly. <\/p>\n Ghaly said the bill slashed the extra Medicaid money the county typically gets to cover care for low-income patients. They expect many patients might be kicked off Medicaid because of new eligibility and work requirements. The federal government is pulling back on payments for emergency services for undocumented people, meaning the county will have to foot more of the bill.<\/p>\n The White House did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Department of Health Services officials said they expect to lose $750 million per year by 2028. By then, the agency\u2019s budget deficit is projected to have ballooned to $1.85 billion. <\/p>\n In an attempt to pump more cash into the system, L.A. County supervisors voted on Tuesday to increase a parcel tax<\/a> first approved by voters in 2002, which is expected to raise an additional $87 million for the county\u2019s trauma care network. <\/p>\n After a long debate Tuesday, Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Lindsey Horvath worked to direct $9 million of the parcel tax money to Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, a private hospital that serves as a critical safety net for South Los Angeles residents who would otherwise find themselves in a medical desert. <\/p>\n Without that cash infusion from the county, the cuts<\/a> in Trump\u2019s bill would have put the hospital at risk of closing, since the majority of patients in its emergency room are on Medicaid, said Elaine Batchlor, Martin Luther King\u2019s chief executive officer.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they\u2019ve lost their Medicaid coverage, we simply won\u2019t get paid for those patients,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Dr. Elaine Batchlor, chief executive of MLK Community Healthcare, said her hospital was hanging by a thread financially. Then came more cuts. <\/p>\n (Francine Orr\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Martin Luther King replaced a county hospital that closed after losing national accreditation<\/a> in 2005 because of serious medical malpractice, landing it the nickname \u201cKiller King<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that that hospital closed in the first place I think is criminal, and I intend to do all I can to protect the integrity of the services,\u201d said Mitchell, whose district includes the hospital and who pushed for it to get a cut of money from the parcel tax increase. <\/p>\n Local health providers said that changes at the state level have created additional uncertainty. The state budget for this fiscal year<\/a> freezes enrollment in Medi-Cal, California\u2019s version of Medicaid, for undocumented immigrants ages 19 and older starting in January. Medi-Cal recipients ages 19 to 59 will have to pay a $30 monthly premium beginning July 1, 2027. <\/p>\n \u201cMost families [we serve] are making about $2,400 to $2,600 a month. They\u2019re going to have to choose between paying their Medi-Cal fees for a family of four \u2014 that\u2019s $120 a month \u2014 or paying rent or paying for food,\u201d said Jim Mangia, head of St. John\u2019s Community Health, who said the cuts will disrupt care for tens of thousands of low-income residents.<\/p>\n The St. John\u2019s clinic, which gets most of its revenue from Medi-Cal reimbursements, serves more than 120,000 patients a year, most of whom live below the federal poverty line. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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