Nashville (Tenn.) General Hospital will have to make cuts if the safety-net hospital's request for a $20 million increase to its subsidy for the 2017-18 fiscal year isn't granted, officials said during a recent meeting with the Metro Council, according to a NewsChannel 5 report.
The Metropolitan Hospital Authority, which operates Nashville General, receives a subsidy of $35 million each year from the Metro Council, the legislative authority of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville. However, Nashville General has needed supplemental funds to stay afloat for the past two years.
In late 2016, the Metropolitan Hospital Authority's board requested a $16 million funding infusion, which was approved by the Metro Council in February. The hospital requested and was granted $10 million in supplemental funding in February 2015.
If Nashville General's request for a $20 million increase to its subsidy for the 2017-18 fiscal year were approved, the hospital's annual subsidy would total about $55 million. Nashville General leaders said during the meeting with the Metro Council last week that the increased funding is needed for the hospital to operate at its current level, according to NewsChannel 5.
If Nashville General's request for a subsidy increase is denied, leaders said the hospital will have to cut costs. Although they declined to say exactly what programs would be affected by the cuts, Nashville General told NewsChannel 5 that hospital leadership and the Metropolitan Hospital Authority's board are trying to protect the hospital's core services.
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