The merger between Walter Reed Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center will cost $1 billion more than its original estimate of $900 million in 2005, according to an NPR report.
The cost to close Walter Reed in Washington, D.C., and rebuild facilities elsewhere has increased from the estimate of just under $900 million in 2005 to approximately $2.7 billion, according to the report. Experts mainly attribute the spike to higher construction costs.
The government had initially expected to begin saving about $172 million each year in 2011 from shutting down the original Walter Reed facility and relocating patients to NNMC in Bethesda, Md., and other locations. After this finding, however, the government may not begin to save money on the hospital’s closure until 2018.
The predicted $172 million in annual savings was a large factor behind the facility’s closure, as the government aimed to merge facilities to increase efficiency and save on Walter Reed’s building maintenance.
Related Articles on Walter Reed Medical Center:
Walter Reed Patients Moved to National Naval Medical Center in Maryland
Maryland’s National Naval Medical Center to Merge With Walter Reed Army Medical in September
Howard University Proposes $1.1B Plan to Move Hospital
