Children’s Hospital Los Angeles announces hundreds of layoffs, citing funding issues

Topline:

What the hospital’s saying: “It became increasingly clear that reductions to both team member and management roles were necessary to ensure CHLA can continue to survive in this uncertain climate,” the hospital’s CEO Paul S. Viviano said in a statement.

The larger context: The hospital didn’t mention federal funding directly in its statement, but the layoffs come as it faces the effects of Medicaid cuts that were passed under President Donald Trump’s budget plan. Organizations like the Association of American Medical Colleges have warned that the cuts will harm hospitals, especially rural ones and those that rely on Medicaid (or Medi-Cal) reimbursements like CHLA.

How federal funding plays in: CHLA received about $700 million yearly from Medi-Cal, according to the most recent data, or about two-thirds of its budget. It also has received tens of millions of dollars in grants from federal sources, such as the National Institutes of Health, according to court filings and hospital news releases.

The backstory: When CHLA closed its gender-affirming care clinic this summer — a decision that was spurred and celebrated by Trump administration officials — it cited similar issues with federal and state funding. Those included lower Medi-Cal reimbursement rates and the potential withholding of federal research grants. At the time, the hospital said it would explore reassigning the gender-affirming care center's employees to other roles. It's not clear how many of the affected employees had worked in the gender-affirming care clinic.