Warning of cuts to medical services, L.A. health officials ask state for emergency funds

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The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services has joined a chorus of California hospitals and health systems lobbying the state for a $500-million emergency payment to public hospitals bracing for massive financial losses.The California Assn.of Public Hospitals and Health Systems is requesting a one-time general fund payment in the 2026-27 budget to help cover inpatient care for fee-for-service Medi-Cal patients at the state’s 17 public hospitals.While the exact percentage of the $500 million allocated to each hospital will depend on inpatient claims, the county expects that roughly 25%, or $125 million, will end up at Los Angeles County hospitals, said Dr.

Christina Ghaly, director of LA Health Services.“That’s the money that is really necessary to serve as a stopgap and continue that lifeline that the public hospitals desperately need, particularly with the state’s proposed shift of undocumented individuals from managed care into fee-for-service,” Ghaly said.Science & Medicine A new study finds no evidence that antidepressant medications cause autism.Ghaly praised county voters for passing Measure ER, which will provide an estimated $220 million annually for the next five years to the county health system through a new half-cent sales tax, Ghaly said.But it’s not enough to stanch what the county estimates will be a $700-million annual loss by the 2028-29 fiscal year.LA Health Services is the largest public health system in the state and second-largest in the nation.

It serves as a safety net for the county’s 10 million residents, providing healthcare regardless of an individual’s ability to pay.More than 80% of the system’s patients rely on Medi-Cal, Los Angeles General Medical Center Chief Executive Jorge Orozco told a state Senate committee in March.The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Trump signed into law last summer, alters Medicai...