Lourdes and other hospitals are bracing for federal budget spending reductions.
If the sequestration cuts stay in place, Lourdes could lose about $11 million over the next 8 years, because Medicare reimbursement rates would be trimmed by 2 percent. That reduction is on top of past cuts and potential future cuts that healthcare systems will try to absorb. Hospitals may lose tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in federal support as the Affordable Care Act is put in place.
Sister Marilyn Perkins says less money coming into Lourdes means the hospital will have less money to reinvest. Sister Marilyn Perkins says, "That kind of translates into it's very difficult to keep up with replacement of equipment and new technologies, those kinds of things. That's where people will feel that cut."
About half of the people Lourdes serves are on Medicare.
