JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The CEO of UF Health said his doomsday prediction of a hospital shutdown was stayed by the approval of $94.8 million in Low Income Pool funding from the state Legislature.
But Russell Armistead said he expects to be back in Tallahassee next year, fighting for funding again.
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"We certainly need new money. Our funding basically keeps us break-even, so we're looking for new sources of funding, so we can reinvest in the community," Armistead said.
Armistead said one major issue with hospital funding is the fact that so many patients come in without insurance.
"All hospitals have the same obligation to provide care to anyone who presents at the emergency room," Armistead said. "It's just a combination of our location and history that we tend to have two to three times the volume of uninsured patients. It's our mission, so we're comfortable with it. It takes resources to do that. That's what we've used the LIP funds for. That's what we've used the city contract for."
He said the government needs to come up with an option to make sure more people are insured, whether it's the Affordable Care Act or something else.