More than a week after ground broke for the new $1.2 billion University Medical Center in New Orleans, state lawmakers are voicing concerns that the hospital’s cost may be unsustainable, according to a Forbes report.
A report by the Illinois-based consulting firm Kaufman Hall & Associates said the 424-bed teaching hospital would cost the state from $70 million to more than $100 million in subsidies each year.
Rep. Tony Ligi said he is concerned the public hospital may drain patients from local private hospitals, harming the state financially. Rep. Jim Fannin, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said providing state funding to the hospital may force reductions in other services.
Louisiana State University officials are challenging the report, saying it overlooks the teaching purpose of the hospital. The hospital is planned to replace LSU’s Charity Hospital, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. New Orleans Rep. Walt Leger defended the hospital plans, saying the facility need to attract students and compete with other academic research facilities in the South.
Read the Forbes report on University Medical Center in New Orleans.
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