Los Angeles County isn't giving all hospitals their fair share of property tax dollars meant to help expand trauma centers, an area hospital alleged in a claim filed last week against the county and its board of supervisors.
An L.A. County spokesman declined to comment on the claim, saying the county had just received it and hadn't yet reviewed the allegations made by Antelope Valley Hospital. Such a claim is required before a lawsuit can be filed.
Antelope Valley, Lancaster, Calif., alleges the county failed to use money from voter-approved Measure B properly. The measure, which passed in 2002, assesses taxes to maintain and expand the county's trauma system to be prepared for medical emergencies and terrorist attacks. Antelope Valley, however, said it's not getting as much of the cash as it should, stretching its ability to provide quality care.
In a 2014 state audit, auditors concluded that without a comprehensive assessment of its trauma system, Los Angeles County cannot show that it has used Measure B funds to expand trauma services countywide as intended by the measure. Without those assessments, the county also cannot show it used the money to address the most pressing trauma needs, auditors said.
Dr. Mitchell Katz, director of the county Department of Health Services, disagreed with those findings in his 2014 official response to the report. He noted that since Measure B passed, no private trauma hospital had closed and two new private trauma hospitals, including Antelope Valley, had been added.
