Seattle Children’s Faces $60M in State Budget Cuts
KING5 Television/seattlepi.com
Seattle Children’s is facing a possible $60 million cut in state funding over the next two years, which could force the hospital to turn away needy patients for the first time in its 100-year history.
"The budget cuts $60 million from Children’s Hospital to save the state only $25 million," Children’s CEO Dr. Tom Hansen told lawmakers in Olympia. "$35 million of this cut is federal Medicaid matching funds that will be lost – turned back to the federal government."
The Legislature, which is trying to close a $9 billion budget shortfall, has proposed slashing $360 million in funding to the state’s 97 hospitals.
