The State : Trauma Care Fund Urged

Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) urged passage of a $75-million federal appropriation to stem the tide of trauma care centers that are closing because they have not been fully compensated for caring of indigent patients. In remarks to a national convention of the American Ambulance Assn., Cranston cited the four Los Angeles County hospitals that have either withdrawn or are threatening to leave a highly touted trauma care network due to financial problems. Cranston’s legislation, co-sponsored by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), would reimburse hospitals hit particularly hard by uninsured trauma patients.