PA. HEALTH CARE Senator: Restore hospital funds

Sharon Regional is losing $870,000 in aid because of the legislation, he said.
State Sen. Bob Robbins of Greenville, Pa., R-50th, is calling on Gov. Ed Rendell to restore state funding cuts to hospitals used to pay for health care for low-income patients.
Robbins said Rendell signed legislation in March that cut state Medical Assistance aid to hospitals across the state by $89 million and will result in the loss of an additional $101 million in federal support for those programs.
Bad results
The senator said Sharon Regional Health System is losing $870,000 in state aid because of that legislation and the Meadville Medical Center is losing $10 million.
When government takes a significant financial payment out of the health-care delivery system, the entire system suffers, Robbins said.
These cuts will leave thousands of Medical Assistance patients without care and could also result in the elimination of health-care jobs and needed services, he said.
The cuts threaten the ability of hospitals to care for those who cannot afford to pay and also hurt the local economies supported by hospitals and their workers, he said.
Pennsylvania can now afford to restore those cuts, tapping some of the $900 million in aid provided to the state by the federal government, Robbins said.
He accused Rendell of holding the funding hostage so the General Assembly will increase taxes, expand gambling and pass new education mandates the governor wants.
There is pending legislation, House Bill 1581, directing that the cuts be restored, Robbins said.