Due an overwhelming budget deficit, Miami's public hospital system stopped paying for kidney dialysis for the indigent, officials said, leaving some patients to rely on emergency rooms for their life-sustaining treatments. A total of 175 patients were affected by the decision by Jackson Health System, which runs South Florida's largest charity hospital, Jackson Memorial, and a number of smaller hospitals and clinics. The situation at Jackson is similar to that at Atlanta's public hospital, Grady Memorial, which closed its outpatient dialysis clinic in early October to curb costs, the New York Times reports.
