St. Paul, MN-based Regions Hospital going to legislators seeking funds

St. Paul, MN-based Regions Hospital has launched a public campaign to make sure legislators understand the full impact of cutting General Assistance Medical Care, or GAMC. The program, which covers 34,000 Minnesotans earning less than $7,800 a year, will end after July 2010 as part of the governor's plan to close the state's deficit without raising taxes. For Regions alone, that will mean a loss of $36.3 million in reimbursement, and GAMC now accounts for about 5% of the hospital's revenue.