California Legislature Approves Measure to Pay New L.A. County Hospital a Higher Rate for Treating Medi-Cal Patients

Tags: Medi-Cal | Willowbrook hospital

The California Senate has approved legislation that would reimburse a new private hospital in south Los Angeles County for Medi-Cal inpatient services at 60 percent of cost, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

Republican senators objected to the bill, arguing it will reimburse the hospital  at a higher rate than other hospitals in the state.

The move paves the way for the development of a new hospital in Willowbrook, Calif., which is intended to alleviate the pressure area hospitals have faced in treating Medi-Cal patients since Martin Luther King Hospital closed in 2007, according to the report.

The University of California, Los Angeles County and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger developed an agreement to set up a private, non-profit hospital in the area. The recently passed legislation will move the plan forward.

Read the Los Angeles Times report on California hospital reimbursement.

Read more coverage on California hospitals:

- California's Community Hospital of Long Beach to Merge With Long Beach Memorial

- California Judge Issues Restraining Order Halting Nurses' Strike

- California Senate Approves Bill Aimed at Reducing Radiation Overdoses in Imaging Studies

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