Trouble ahead for state hospitals

The financial problems facing many California hospitals will continue in 2012 and likely result in closures, the California Hospital Association predicts.

In a report released in January, the association cited “federal and state health-care reform implementation, together with state and federal budget pressures and other environmental market forces” as reasons some rural and urban hospitals will be at high risk of closing in 2012, according to California Healthline. The report also predicted health-care worker unions will act more aggressively in response to proposed pay cuts, while hospitals will likely lose business to retail clinics and physician-operated ambulatory-care centers.

Compounding the issue, citizens 65 and older represent the fastest-growing age group in the state, suggesting the demand for health-care services is likely to increase in the coming year.