The predictions came from a district auditor report, which said the hospital could lose $45 million a year in federal grants as well as “sovereign immunity” which limits to $200,000 the amount the district must pay in a medical malpractice lawsuit. The immunity saved the hospital around $30 million in two recent cases, according to the report.
The report also pointed out the system will come under different accounting rules if it turns over operations to a private non-profit group. Those rules could raise the cost of retiree benefits by millions of dollars per year.
Hospital district CEO Frank Nask said the report exaggerates the financial impact of privatization, adding that a better analysis might reveal lesser or non-existent effects.
Read the Sun Sentinel report on North Broward Hospital District.
Read more on hospital business and finance:
–The Implementation of New Models of Care: Q&A With Iowa Health System CEO Bill Leaver
