The combination of discordant reimbursement policies by insurers, dysfunctional Medicaid programs, as well as a surge in under and uninsured children, many  born to women illegally in the United States especially in border states such as California, are contributing to these types of actions.  Hospitals must pay bills like all business entities and they MUST be profitable (even if they are labeled “non-profit”) or they will close.  So tough choices are made daily by hospital administrators, hospital boards and hospital medical staffs.  Real Health Reform will require real insurance reform first followed by a series of additional steps to stop the financial hemorrhaging that is occurring among many of our hospitals . . . jomaxx

Faced with financial pressure, California hospitals continue to reduce pediatric units.

California parents and medical professionals are grappling with a significantly diminished network of care for the state’s 10 million children.  Driven more by financial pressure than any shift in medical protocol, some 65 hospitals have either eliminated their children’s units or shut down altogether. Many hospitals have been shifted resources toward adults, who receive higher state and federal subsidies. This trend continues even as the number of children has grown.  According to one analysis, over 800 inpatient children’s beds were lost from 1998 through 2007 — a 19 % drop. The state currently has one licensed pediatric bed per 2,500 children.  Meanwhile, policy experts, nurses and many pediatricians worry that young patients are now concentrated at too few hospitals, even with more children being treated as outpatients.  Moreover, the cuts are occurring without serious, coordinated analysis of how the losses statewide could affect the quality of care.  In fact, researchers are only just beginning to study the phenomenon . . . read more @ http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pediatric-hospital25-2009jan25,0,3471232.story