Bill would cut New Orleans healthcare

The New Orleans region could lose up to $70 million a year in healthcare financing under a bill approved by the Senate that aims to redistribute the way money is divided among southern Louisiana charity hospitals. The bill was filed to correct a disparity between the amount of tax dollars that flow to the New Orleans Charity Hospital facilities compared with other hospitals in the public hospital system run by Louisiana State University, proponents say. Opponents to the bill said New Orleans deserves the money it gets because a disproportionate amount of expensive and complex procedures are performed there while regional hospitals often focus on routine primary care.