Health Resolution

Today, Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks won support for a resolution calling on the federal government to declare a medical emergency in South Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles City Council will ask federal
lawmakers to support legislation aimed at keeping the county's public health
system solvent, it was decided today.
The resolution by Councilman Bernard Parks calls on the federal
government to fund the reopening of the county's closed medical facilities --
and to increase Medicare and Medicated reimbursements.
The City Council approved its federal legislative program today, citing
fears that the county's healthcare system would be unprepared to respond to any
surge caused by a natural or man-made disaster.
``We're concerned that we are unable to address the ongoing medical
concerns in our community, particularly when we know that 25 percent of those
in this county have no health care. We also know there's a large number of
under-insured, (and) that they're now making decisions whether to buy food, pay
rent or have health care,'' Parks said.
Parks is one of the two top contenders in the race for the county's 2nd
Supervisorial District seat that will be vacated at the end of the year by
Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, whose district includes the closed Martin Luther King
Jr.-Harbor Hospital.
Parks and his rival, Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, have made reopening King-
Harbor a key plank in their campaigns, but Parks said today that the county's
healthcare system had wider-ranging problems.
``Many people think that the medical crisis is only centered around the
closure of MLK. What we've found is that that only exacerbates the issue. The
larger issue (is) our entire network of health systems is in disarray and also
underfunded.''
The county's Department of Health Services, which runs four hospitals,
two multi-disciplinary ambulatory care centers, six comprehensive health
centers and an array of public clinics, faces a projected $197.8 million budget
deficit.
Parks' resolution also opposes any new federal regulations that cap
hospital payments and eliminate money for medical educations. If approved,
pending legislation could result in the loss of about $600 million in health
care funds flowing to the state and $240 million to the county.
With the state's projected budget deficit approaching $20 billion, the
trickle-down effect of cuts at the state level are expected to be felt at the
local level.
Health Services officials have estimated the department's loss in state
funding at $55.9 million.