County to Get U.S. Aid for Health Care Overhaul
The Clinton administration announced Tuesday that it will provide Los Angeles County with $632 million in federal aid over the next three years so it can continue the overhaul of its health care system.
The approval is considered a major victory for county officials, who have spent two years fighting for the funding package.
Technically, the funding commitment is a continuation of a policy set by President Clinton in 1995, when he agreed to provide the county with $364 million in bailout money if the county promised to radically--and quickly--move away from its outmoded reliance on public hospitals and toward one emphasizing preventive and less expensive outpatient care.
“This . . . gives Los Angeles County the time and resources it needs to do this restructuring right,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala in a statement from Washington.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky hailed the announcement as a major vote of confidence in the county leadership, and in the effort to change the health system from top to bottom.
It “shows that we are making good progress in our efforts to restructure, reform and re-engineer our system,” he said.
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