PBS Special Report: Health Care Reform

On Thursday, September 24th, PBS programs Tavis Smiley, NOW on PBS, and Nightly Business Report are teaming up to provide an in-depth look at health care reform in America, and the most recent government proposals to address the issue. The special will include a SoCal Connected piece about Downey Regional Medical Center's struggle to stay afloat.

Last Spring, Jim Lott of the Hospital Association of Southern California told reporter Vince Gonzales just how critical the financial situation was: "What I worry about every night - and this is literally almost every night - is waking up the next morning and hearing that one more hospital with an emergency room in Los Angeles has announced that it's going to close."

In an update on that story, Downey Regional Medical Center has become the second Los Angeles-area hospital in as many years to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Hospital officials largely blame unfavorable HMO insurance contracts for $100 million in net losses they say the facility has posted in recent years. And they say tight credit markets contributed to its financial distress.

While Downey will remain fully operational and is expected to emerge from bankruptcy within a year, its story has become more common and exemplifies the challenges of reforming a complex health care system.

You can watch the special here on KCET, Thursday at 9 pm.

RESOURCES:
Hospital Association of Southern California
UCLA School of Public Health
Consumer Watchdog.org


RELATED:

How Healthy is L.A.? - When the economy gets sick, how does it affect public health? On this week's SoCal Podcast, story editor Saul Gonzalez interviews Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding to find out. Fielding is the Director of the Department of Public Health for Los Angeles County.




Get Connected: Young & Uninsured - Americans between the ages of 18-34 make up the largest group of those without health insurance. We're working on a story about this very issue and we'd like to talk to a young person (19-29) in Southern California who is currently uninsured and facing illness, chronic disease or an accident that is going to cost a lot of money.




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