Deukmejian Agrees to Help Rescue Trauma Care

Gov. George Deukmejian, although he still believes that funding of hospital trauma centers is a local responsibility, has said he will lend his support to finding alternate sources of state funding to rescue the hard-pressed system in Los Angeles County, county officials said Thursday.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich and Michael Franchetti, a county lobbyist and former Deukmejian finance director, met with the governor for 90 minutes and emerged saying they are hopeful the funding alternatives will work. The alternatives depend on the success of other money bills before the Legislature.

“They (Deukmejian Administration officials) think it’s doable,” Franchetti said after meeting with the governor.

A Deukmejian spokesman said that the governor reiterated at the meeting his opposition to direct state funding of trauma centers but that he added, “We would work with legislative authors to fashion acceptable bills” from which the county could derive additional funds.

The private meeting followed more than two months of controversy over Deukmejian’s vetoes of nearly $30 million in funding to help bail out both the Los Angeles County trauma network and several other special emergency hospital care programs throughout the state. About $10 million would have gone to Los Angeles County.

A Local Problem

Since the vetoes, Deukmejian has steadfastly maintained that because trauma networks are local programs, their funding is a local problem.

The county maintained in a letter last week that its once highly touted trauma network is in danger of collapse unless new funding is found. Five hospitals have dropped out of the 3-year-old network that once had 23 members. Three of those hospitals, citing severe financial losses, pulled out since Jan. 1, and others are reassessing their participation.

Antonovich said after the meeting Thursday that the governor has not changed his attitude about trauma networks: He still does not believe that they should be maintained directly at state expense. But the supervisor, a longtime Deukmejian ally, told The Times that, at Deukmejian’s suggestion, the county could seek funding for the trauma network from other sources. Specifically, Antonovich said, the governor referred to a variety of funding bills.

Included in the bills that the county, with the Administration’s help, could push before the Legislature adjourns on Sept. 11:

- A proposal to “disengage” the state fully from the funding of indigent patients who do not qualify for any form of state health insurance and to use some of the money for trauma centers. The state agreed several years ago to reimburse counties for 30% of the health care for indigents, but county officials have claimed that the state has never met its obligation, owing Los Angeles about $77 million.

Administration officials have disputed the claim of $77 million, but Franchetti said the governor has agreed to a study of the effect of indigents on the county’s health budget.

Under the so-called disengagement plan, the counties would receive an additional quarter of a cent of the state sales tax to help offset indigent patient care and could use this source of funds for trauma centers.

- A state assumption of financing of local Municipal and Superior courts. Los Angeles County spends about $165 million a year to finance the courts. For years, Deukmejian has tied any assumption of court funding to reforms to streamline the criminal justice system.

State officials said the governor is encouraged that some reforms have been enacted. Deukmejian reportedly told both Antonovich on Thursday and legislative leaders from both parties on Wednesday that assumption of the court funding could help the hard-pressed counties solve their money problems, including the area of trauma care.

Senate President Pro Tem David Roberti (D-Los Angeles) said Thursday that he is not opposed to the state taking over court funding but that he believes that there should be some assurances that the county would use the additional money to finance both health-care programs and the trauma network.

- A bill providing an additional $18 million in a bloc grant to counties for use in any way they wish. Under the budget signed in July, Deukmejian agreed to allocate $89 million in discretionary funds to the counties, about $23 million of which would go to Los Angeles County. Under the new scheme, the county would receive an additional $7 million.

The trauma network was established in December, 1983, to guarantee victims of serious injuries or accidents a maximum 20-minute ambulance ride to a specially equipped and staffed emergency room.