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Kansas City, Mo. – Several area health providers as well as MAST are bracing for funding reductions from the city.
The Kansas City council is scheduled to vote today on about $3.5 million in cuts to area safety net providers. The city currently gives funds to places like Truman Medical Center and Swope Health Center by drawing from a special property tax that voters approved back in 2005.
Councilwoman Melba Curls sits on the Public Safety and Neighborhoods Committee, which gave preliminary approval to the cuts yesterday. She says property tax revenues were down about seven percent this year, making the funding reductions hard to prevent.
"You know, there are fewer dollars everywhere, fewer tax dollars being collected, fewer everything," Curls says.
Curls says the seven health providers will be getting between 6% and 7% less funding from the city this year.
Funding for health care coverage on KCUR has been provided by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.
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