The Mid-Minnesota Family Medicine Center gets subsidies from St. Cloud Hospital of almost $2 million a year so it can offer treatment to patients with no insurance and limited means, says the St. Cloud Times.

But the popular clinic may be closed if hospital reimbursement rates and state health insurance eligibility are cut as part of the state budget solution, said Craig Broman, St. Cloud Hospital’s president. The hospital stands to lose $12 million to $13 million a year if Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s two-year budget proposal were adopted, Broman said.

Last year, two-thirds of the clinic's patients were either on government-assisted health care or uninsured, said Joe Blonski, program director for St. Cloud Hospital’s Family Medical Residency.

“It’s people who’ve lost their employment or their health benefits,” said Blonski, who oversees operations at the clinic. “They’re coming in more every day.”

These cuts would have the effect of reducing the payment that hospitals receive from the state for treating people without insurance, while putting more people into that category, Blonski said.

“That’s the double-whammy we’re worried about,” he said.

Pawlenty has told hospitals that they need to share the pain of budget cuts.

“Hospitals are not immune from the recession,” he said. “Is there going to be some pressure on the health care system? Yes.”

The governor suggested they come up with alternatives, “instead of carping and complaining."

But St. Cloud Hospital officials say they've done that, moving to electronic medical records and eliminating waste. But after several rounds of cuts to reimbursement rates, there isn’t any fat anymore.