Antelope Valley Hospital has filed a claim against the County of Los Angeles and its board of supervisors for allegedly failing to allocate millions in property taxes to trauma centers and in particular, AV Hospital, according to hospital officials.
"We believe we've been shorted in excess of $10 million per year," CEO Dennis Knox said Tuesday.
The shortage leaves AV Hospital underfunded, he said, as the Lancaster, Calif. hospital operates on thin margins with a $600,000 bottom line. It can no longer afford to divert funds to the ER amid a growing population, he said. AV Hospital has the only trauma center within a 50-mile radius, he said.
The county has 60 days to respond to the claim prior to AV Hospital filing a lawsuit seeking equitable relief, economic damages and other appropriate relief, according to hospital officials.
"We've exhausted all other efforts to resolve the issue," Knox said.
David Sommers, spokesman for L.A. Board of Supervisors, said as the board had no comment as it had just been served and had yet had the opportunity to review the hospital's claim.
At issue is tax money for the county's trauma centers, enacted as Measure B, following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The initiative also answered a need to keep trauma centers from withdrawing from the system due to the increasing cost of uncompensated care for patients with no insurance or ability to pay for emergency services, according to the hospital.
In one year - FY 2011-2012 - Measure B generated more than $256 million in revenue, according to officials.
Knox said Antelope Valley Hospital receives less than one-half of one percent of those funds annually, yet has the second highest volume of emergency patients in the county.
A February 2014 state audit critical of Measure B allocations stated more money has gone to the county's non-trauma hospital than to all 12 non-county trauma hospitals combined, according to hospital officials.
Medical Director Larry Stock said the county and board of supervisors disbanded Measure B's mandatory Oversight Committee, leaving no independent oversight.
AV Hospital filed its claim against the county in the wake of the audit, alleging the county consistently failed to: conduct comprehensive assessments of its trauma system; use Measure B funds to address the county’s most pressing trauma needs; and to fulfill the intent of Measure B to expand trauma services countywide.