OH's Kucinich fights to save MetroHealth jobs

MetroHealth System's financial struggles and questioned whether the Cleveland Clinic should provide more health care to the region's poor. U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich called the town hall meeting at Merrick House in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood after hearing that the taxpayer-subsidized health system planned to cut 450 jobs because of losses due at least in part to providing free care to the needy. MetroHealth, known as the region's safety net hospital, announced recently that it is trimming $30 million from its budget and closing a 144-bed skilled nursing facility as it faces a projected $1.1 million net loss for the year. "No one hospital should be expected to take the burden of charity care in the Cleveland community," Kucinich told about 70 people who attended the meeting. "Fair is fair."