The $95 million in Medicaid funding represents approximately 20 percent of UF Health’s funding. The Jacksonville hospital deals with large proportions of uninsured or underinsured patients, and a substantial amount of this funding is used to treat this population, according to the report.
Russ Armistead, CEO of UF Health Jacksonville, said if the legislature does not protect the hospital’s funding sources, the area’s only Trauma One critical care facility would fold.
“If we lose, we would just close,” he told News4Jax. “We have roughly 50 days of cash. No reserves, the lowest Moody’s credit rating — we don’t have anywhere to go get extra money.”
Ed Burr of the Jacksonville Civic Council stated at a news conference Friday that UF Health Jacksonville is one of the most efficiently run safety-net hospitals, and they have no room to cut expenses.
If the hospital closes, patients would have to seek care at other area hospitals, but many of these are already experiencing overcrowding, according to the report.
More articles on finance:
Premier CEO Susan DeVore: Hospitals need ‘quality cycle management’ to succeed in value model
Details on Banner Health’s $86M facility in Colorado released
Florida Senate budget includes proposed Medicaid expansion plan
