Private hospital executives hurriedly hand-delivered bids Thursday to take over county medical clinics, saying it will be better to lose some money running the facilities than have their emergency rooms flooded with uninsured sick people when the clinics are closed.
County officials said private hospitals and other caregivers turned in several dozen proposals by a 4 p.m. deadline to operate clinics that provide prenatal care, AIDS testing, childhood vaccinations, treatment for tuberculosis and other services to hundreds of thousands of low-income residents.
Among the largest bidders is a consortium of San Fernando Valley hospitals and physicians' groups that wants to assume management of all six clinics targeted for closure in the region.
Meanwhile, County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said the Mid-Valley Comprehensive Health Center in Van Nuys has been removed from the list of clinics targeted for closure, although its operations will be scaled back.
The county plans to shutter 33 of its 45 clinics and most outpatient services at its six hospitals on Oct. 1 to help bridge a massive budget deficit that is forcing a drastic downsizing of the nation's second largest public health system run by local government.
Among bidders to take over county facilities are some of Los Angeles' best-known hospitals, including St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Childrens Hospital and Queen of Angels/Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center.
County health czar Burt Margolin and other officials hope to blunt the impact of their budget cuts by turning over some or all of the clinics to outside contractors. Since the budget crunch is so severe, private medical providers were given only nine days to submit bids and many complained of not being able to obtain details on clinic operating costs.
But the uncertainties did not prevent them from submitting about 100 proposals to take over clinics and hospital outpatient services, a Margolin spokeswoman said.
The Valley group, which includes at least 11 hospitals, wants to form a private corporation to take over and operate clinics from Canoga Park to Burbank. It hopes to tap the Woodland Hills-based California Wellness Foundation and other local charities for operating funds.
Dr. Keith Richman, the group's leader, said private hospital executives and doctors believe they can run the clinics cheaper and more efficiently than the county. The group, he said, wants eventually to take over all medical care for 350,000 valley residents without health insurance, an arrangement he said would also benefit local hospitals battered by the recession and intense private-sector competition.
