The chances that urban hospitals can deal with a terrorist attack or natural catastrophe are bad and may be getting worse. Congress’s House oversight committee released a report yesterday that hospitals in the seven cities arguably most vulnerable to an attack have shortages in emergency room capacity.  The lack of intensive care beds and hospital personnel is especially problematic in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. 

Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) charges that the problem will grow, because the Dept. of Health Human Services is slashing Medicaid programs. The Washington Post’s Spencer S. Hsu and Mary Beth Sheridan report that Dept. intends to cut $17.8 billion over the next five years in money for public hospitals.  Read Hsu and Beth Sheridan here.  MB

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