California Hospitals Struggle Financially After Preparing for COVID-19 Surge that Never Came
May 28th, 2020Don’t worry:
Now, reeling from the twin financial blows, hospitals are struggling to get ready for a possible new surge in cases this autumn, and wrestling with the question of whether they over-prepared last time around.
Via: Reuters:
As the novel coronavirus tore through Italy and then New York in March, California, anticipating a deadly surge in cases, ordered hospitals to shut down routine procedures and called in thousands of health care workers to help patients.
But the predicted surge never came.
And the cost of all that preparation – setting up field hospitals, doubling the number of intensive care rooms, purchasing protective equipment – dealt a blow to hospital bottom lines, while the ban on all non-emergency procedures cut revenues in half.
The measures drove hospitals in the most populous U.S. state close to bankruptcy, costing them as much as $14 billion and forcing them to lay off of thousands of health care workers, according to the California Hospital Association.
Related: The CDC Confirms Remarkably Low Coronavirus Death Rate. Where Is the Media?