Bill Would Authorize $100M In Annual Grants For Trauma Centers

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 13 Nov 2007 - 8:00 PDT

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Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) have introduced a bill that would authorize $100 million in annual grants to trauma centers nationwide, with most of the funds awarded to facilities with the largest financial losses related to charity care, Hearst/Detroit News reports. The legislation would establish three new grant programs. "When a trauma patient can't afford treatment, the trauma center itself absorbs the cost of care," Murray said, adding, "And this is putting ... many of our trauma centers at serious risk." According to the National Foundation for Trauma Care, at least 19 trauma centers nationwide have closed since 2000 (Dlouhy, Hearst/Detroit News, 11/9).

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