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Inquiring
minds are reading Miami-Dade hospital
system nears insolvency.
The
major hospital network Miami relies on for trauma care is close to insolvency
and could be cut off by suppliers. Executives for Jackson Health System
surprised its governing board Tuesday by saying the nonprofit is near or
already in a "death spiral" as it runs low on cash.
Chief Operating Officer David Small says any day he could hear from a surgeon
without enough supplies to operate. The hospital system is the only Level 1
trauma center set up to provide emergency care around the clock in
Miami-Dade, which is Florida's most populous county and the 8th largest in
the nation.
The hospital system needs a $67 million advance from the county to avoid
coming within a day and a half of operating cash by April 5.
County
responsible for paying Jackson's union workers
Here's an interesting highlight. The Miami-Dade attorney says County responsible for
paying Jackson's union workers.
If
the Jackson Health System runs out of cash, the county would be responsible
for paying Jackson's 10,500 union workers, but not necessarily the other
1,500 employees, according to a legal analysis by County Attorney R.A. Cuevas
Jr.
It's unclear exactly how big a tab that might be, but it would be a huge
chunk of the $86 million of salaries and benefits that the public hospital
system spends each month. At present, Jackson is expected to run out of cash
in May or June unless drastic cuts are made.
This revelation on the county's responsibility comes just before a special
meeting scheduled for Wednesday by the Miami-Dade County Commission ``to
really understand the issues . . . being faced by the community's safety net
hospital,'' according to the memo from Chairman Dennis C. Moss, who ordered
the meeting.
Cuevas' memo explores many issues in the relationship between Jackson and the
county and raises the possibility that Gov. Charlie Crist might set up an
oversight panel to administer the financially troubled institution, much the
same way that Gov. Lawton Chiles created a financial emergencies board in
1996 to get the city of Miami back on track.
Jackson Chief Executive Eneida Roldan is trying to find ways to get faster
and lower costs, but last week she announced she was putting a 45-day
moratorium on job cuts, meaning it would likely be May before any major
cost-cutting takes place.
The county meanwhile is battling its own budget woes, needing to find another
$48 million in cuts this fiscal year, making it extremely difficult to find
more money for Jackson.
Cascading
Bankruptcies
Read the last sentence in the above article above again. It highlight the
problems of unions dumping on cities dumping on counties. The only solution
is to get rid of unions, taxpayer supported defined benefit pension plans,
and taxpayers supported salaries well above what the private sector makes.
As I said years ago, I fully expect several counties in Florida to go
bankrupt. Moreover, I expect many cities in many states to do the same. The
only way out is for unions to voluntarily agree to dramatic cuts in wages and
benefits. However, as noted in Moorestown New Jersey
Unions Highlight Union Arrogance, the odds of
that happening in mass are slim.
Ironically, this depression is bound to unwind the devastatingly parasitic
measures FDR used to combat the last depression.
Mish
GlobalEconomicAnalysis.blogspot.com
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