By Joel Giambra
Buffalo, NY – A court date is scheduled for Friday morning in the Erie County Medical Center's lawsuit against the county over the loss of its subsidy. The 2006 county budget eliminated nearly all funding for ECMC.
Talks on a settlement are said to be underway, but both sides are under a court-imposed "gag" order. County Executive Joel Giambra said Tuesday he couldn't comment. But he went on to say that the county is not shirking its obligations to the hospital.
"We're very interested in working with the Erie County Medical Center to make sure it's solvent and an important piece of the health care delivery system here," Giambra said. "So, we're talking, and we continue to talk in hopes of avoiding future litigation."
Giambra said he hopes that any settlement reached with ECMC is a multi-year agreement.