Vim & Vigor - Summer 2012 - Parrish Medical Center - (Page 2)
Opening ThoughTs
Hospital funding cuts mean a sharper focus on process improvements
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How We’re Facing the Great Challenges in Healthcare
he budget passed in March by the state Legislature affects Florida’s healthcare system, and that, of course, affects all of us. The budget includes millions of dollars in cuts to the state Medicaid program. When matched with federal funding, this equals about $323 million in cuts to hospitals statewide. That is on top of a $510 million reduction in hospital funding in 2011. The state cuts were not as deep as we anticipated; however, not being as bad as we’d feared doesn’t alter the fact that they present a serious threat to Brevard hospitals and to hospitals statewide. Parrish Medical Center (PMC) and our fellow Florida hospitals depend on state funding to help care for our poorest and sickest citizens. For PMC, the 2012 cuts mean we will lose $1 million in Medicaid funding on top of the $2.5 million we lost in cuts last year. These funds would have helped to offset the costs of providing care to our most vulnerable citizens. Some 65 percent of PMC patients use Medicaid or Medicare. The Florida Medicaid program provides vital healthcare benefits to 3.1 million low-income families, children, elderly and disabled. Children make up half of all Medicaid recipients. For these fellow Floridians, Medicaid is their only option for vital healthcare coverage.
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Vim & Vigor • Sum m er 2 012
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Summer 2012 - Parrish Medical Center