Scripps CEO: Hospitals Caught Between Fed and State Collision

Scripps Health and other hospital operators in California are facing unprecedented challenges from both state and federal governments that threaten the resources they need to keep providing services to patients.

That’s the warning delivered by Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder in a recent opinion commentary published by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

He pointed to potential cuts to Medicare (known as Medi-Cal in California), tariffs on imports, unfunded seismic mandates and government efforts to greatly limit cost growth for health care services as the biggest threats currently facing hospitals.

“These trains are hurtling toward each other, and it spells disaster,” he wrote. “Will policymakers act before it’s too late?”

Read the Union-Tribune commentary: State Policies and Federal Cuts Put Hospitals at Grave Risk