Frommer’s bill sees funding

Ryan Carter

A local legislator has succeeded in his effort to secure federal

funding for certain Los Angeles hospitals.

Through legislation written by Assemblyman Dario Frommer

(D-Burbank), allocation of federal funds to Los Angeles County

hospitals that treat large numbers of Medi-Cal patients began this

week.

The money will reimburse hospitals for outpatient services

provided to Medi-Cal patients during the 2003-04 fiscal year.

The money, $142 million in federal funding, was secured through a

bill introduced last year.

The legislation, which was signed last year by Gov. Gray Davis,

created the Medi-Cal Outpatient Certified Public Expenditure Program.

The program allows local public agencies and health facilities to

be reimbursed for their costs not covered for caring for the state’s

Medi-Cal patients.

Hospitals in Burbank and Glendale did not receive funds because

they do not serve as large a Medi-Cal population as those in poorer

parts of the county, said Frommer, chairman of the Assembly’s

committee on health.

“Our hospital system is in a crisis and a lot of our facilities

are operating in the red,” he said. “Any way we can help get more

federal dollars is something we have to pursue.”

Frommer said the legislation allows public hospitals to use some

local money from governing agencies such as the county to apply for

federal matching funds. No state dollars would be spent.

Among the 78 hospitals in the state eligible to receive funding,

Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center will receive $6.1 million,

Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center will receive $5.9 million

and the Los Angeles County Harbor- UCLA Medical Center will receive

$4.5 million through the secured funding.