The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is on track to sign off on roughly $73.48 million in county money to support trauma and emergency services across the region, keeping the safety net from fraying at the seams. The plan would extend a multi-year setup that combines Measure B parcel-tax revenues with court-fee penalty funds so emergency departments and trauma programs can keep their doors open.
According to a board memo from the County of Los Angeles, the county’s obligation for FY2025-26 comes to about $73.48 million. That includes approximately $70.757 million from Measure B, $2.025 million from the Maddy Emergency Medical Services Fund and about $747,000 from Richie’s Fund, with $49,000 of that Richie’s slice earmarked for county pediatric trauma centers. The plan also authorizes the Department of Health Services to use up to $52.572 million of Measure B as an intergovernmental transfer to pull in federal matching dollars, which boosts the total available for supplemental Medi-Cal payments. Those terms are baked into DHS’ FY2025-26 budget and would extend memorandums of agreement with non-county trauma hospitals.
Who Gets the Money
Thirteen non-county trauma centers are lined up to share the bulk of the funding: Antelope Valley Hospital, California Hospital Medical Center, Cedars-Sinai, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Henry Mayo Newhall, Huntington Hospital, Long Beach Medical Center, Northridge, Pomona Valley, Providence Holy Cross, Ronald Reagan UCLA, St. Francis and St. Mary Medical Center. Separate, smaller payments are identified for county facilities Los Angeles General and Harbor-UCLA, as reported by MyNewsLA. Attachment A in the county packet breaks out the line-item amounts for each hospital and the methodology categories used to calculate how the money is divided. County officials say the funding is meant to stabilize access for Medi-Cal patients and other underserved residents who depend on the trauma network.
MLK’s Fight for a Needs-Based Formula
Leaders at MLK Community Hospital are pushing the county to revisit how it splits up the cash, arguing that the current formula leaves South Los Angeles shortchanged, according to MyNewsLA. MLK CEO Elaine Batchlor wrote to the board in February warning about looming federal funding cuts, and Atul Nakhasi, the hospital’s vice president for government affairs, told the outlet that MLK is staring down an $80 million to $100 million annual gap in 2027. “We’re calling for a needs-based formula because we need the safety net. The system is facing grave danger,” he said.
Where Measure ER Fits In
County officials and hospital executives say voter-approved Measure ER, the temporary half-cent sales tax passed in June, will pump new revenue into the county’s general fund for health services. They also caution it will not, by itself, fix the multi-year structural deficits that providers are facing. Measure ER is expected to bring in about $1 billion per year for five years and is intended to help backfill cuts to federal and state funding for safety-net providers, according to NBC Los Angeles.
How the County Stretches the Dollars
The county packet lays out how using Measure B as an intergovernmental transfer has become a central tool for drawing down federal matching funds. The memo estimates that this approach will generate about $52.572 million in federal matches on top of the county’s own contribution. DHS says combining local funds with those federal matches creates a larger pot for supplemental Medi-Cal payments while administrators and trauma centers work out a longer-term funding methodology for FY2026-27. Officials frame the current setup as a bridge that keeps core services in place while they take more time to fine-tune the allocation formula.
What to Watch Next
The Board of Supervisors was scheduled to take up the amendments at its June 30 meeting and to give DHS the authority to execute the memorandums of agreement. If the board signs off, the payments and intergovernmental transfer process would move ahead under the FY2025-26 terms. For the final allocation table and any follow-up on MLK’s request for a needs-based redistribution, keep an eye on upcoming board packets and DHS briefings; meeting agendas and materials are posted on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
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