Eds: APNewsNow. Will be updated from 12:45 p.m. meeting.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The board of the Hennepin County Medical Center is poised to adopt a 2010 budget that could significantly shrink the services provided by the state's largest safety net hospital.

The board is scheduled to meet Wednesday afternoon to approve its first budget since the state eliminated the General Assistance Medical Care program for poor adults. HCMC assumes it will lose about $43 million due to the cut.

County Board Chairman Mike Opat, who also sits on the HCMC board, says the board will be faced with the decision to close clinics, delay overdue capital spending and restrict access to HCMC's non-emergency services.

He says, "we're going to pass a lousy budget ... and it's going to be a depressing," but then they'll get back to looking for additional money so they won't have to actually make the cuts.

On the Net: Hennepin County Medical Center: http://www.hcmc.org/ (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-18-09 0500CST | save this article / add to your favorites list