Trauma bill supporters preparing for push May 11, 2008
In the final days of the session, the Senate addressed the "entitlement" concern by declaring that no money from the tag fee could pay for uncompensated care at hospitals ... Uncompensated care serves poor and uninsured people who cannot pay their bills, and it is a major reason some hospitals are suffering financially ... "If you want popular support," he said, "people have to think it's going to make sure there is a trauma system for their child if they're in an auto accident. They don't want... (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Pa. budget secretary says plan to cover uninsured 'sustainable' May 6, 2008
As more uninsured Pennsylvanians enroll in ABC, hospitals will be treating fewer uninsured patients and a portion of the current "uncompensated care" payments could be redirected to the ABC program. Rendell said the budget office analysis "demonstrates to the taxpayers of Pennsylvania and their elected leaders that this is a financially responsible plan. With the additional revenues from the proposed 10 cents-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax and the first-time-ever tax on smokeless and... (Philadelphia Business Journal, PA)
Health giant McKesson acquires software maker HTP May 4, 2008
Uncompensated care amounted to $31 billion nationally in 2006, according to the. OSU Medical Center and are among local clients. (Columbus Business First, OH)
Moses Cone community benefit grows to $115 million May 3, 2008
Uncompensated care remains the largest item , growing to $96. 8 million for 2007 from $90. (Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area)
Health insurance plan revealed for NC May 3, 2008
Memorial President & CEO Joseph Ruffolo noted that more than 21,000 Niagara County residents lack even basic health insurance coverage, which contributed to Memorial providing nearly $7 million in uncompensated care last year. Related Industry News. (Buffalo Business First, NY)
$45 billion a year is spent by public on health costs for full-time workers and families May 2, 2008
This includes $33 billion in the cost of public coverage such as Medicaid and the State Childrens Health Insurance Program, and $12 billion in uncompensated care expenseswhich are paid by Federal, state and local governments and shifted to other payersprovided to uninsured workers and dependents ... 5 billion, and an increase in uncompensated care costs from $9 ... When private employer-sponsored coverage declines, public health insurance and uncompensated care only fill part of the gap. (EurekAlert!)
Report: Lack of health insurance kills 2 each week Apr 9, 2008
The lack of health insurance also affects those who are insured, because the cost of health insurance premiums rises to pay for uncompensated care for the uninsured, he said. . (Missoulian, MT)
Report places hospital economic impact at $1.9 trillion Apr 9, 2008
Hospitals nationwide provided $31 billion in uncompensated care to patients and communities in 2006, according to the hospital group. Latest News. (Atlanta Business Chronicle, GA)
Poor Get Recycled Drugs In Some States Apr 8, 2008
Every year, hospitals there provide about $120 million in uncompensated care, according to Susie Scott, executive director for the Wyoming Health Care Commission ... In Iowa, hospitals in 2005 provided $465 million in uncompensated care, according to the state's hospital association. (Click2Houston, TX)
Lost in the labyrinth Mar 30, 2008
Walczak says half of his patients were uninsured three years ago, but they were covered by the Massachusetts Uncompensated Care Pool, the old system that handled such people. The good news is that far fewer patients are still in the pool, now under a different name. (Boston Globe)
Both Parties Prescribe Bad Medicine In The Form Of Insurance Mandates Mar 29, 2008
As for the responsibility argument, uncompensated care costs federal and state governments roughly $40 billion a year in a health economy that tops more than $2 trillion annually. That's a very small percentage of the total expenditure, and certainly doesn't amount to a hidden tax of $900 per person. (Investors Business Daily)
Independent ideas Mar 24, 2008
Massachusetts reformers were so sure this would be the case they eliminated the state's uncompensated care plan in 2007, replacing it with the Health Safety Net Trust Fund ... So much for the Massachusetts promise that making people buy insurance leads to less uncompensated care and better reimbursement rates ... Reformers blame the uninsured for uncompensated care, willfully ignoring the fact that the majority of uncompensated care is generated by the government run Medicaid and Medicare... (Boulder Colorado Daily, CO)
Use fund surplus for uninsured Bill would expand access to medical treatment Mar 22, 2008
Coverage for uninsured workers would sharply reduce the amount of uncompensated care now provided by hospitals and other providers, thus improving their bottom lines. The Senate should approve the House bill. (Scranton Times, PA)
Health care alert Mar 17, 2008
At the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the cost of uncompensated care -- the combination of charity care and bad debt -- is expected to increase by $14 ... Shifting an increasing share of heath care costs to employees, which includes bigger co-pays and limited coverage plans, are among the reasons DeMichiei cited for the increase in uncompensated care. (Pittsburgh Business Times, PA)
Weak immigrant sent home after free treatment in Ariz. Mar 17, 2008
Weak immigrant sent home after free treatment in Ariz. Weak immigrant sent home after free treatment in Ariz. (AZCentral -- News)
Guest editorial: How to reduce cost of health care Mar 9, 2008
When they do not have the ability to pay, then hospitals and providers are faced with large amounts of uncompensated care. These costs are shifted to other payers and then add more to the total costs of health care. (Ames Daily Tribune, IA)
Should We Push Everyone Into The Health-insurance Pool? Feb 28, 2008
"Fifteen percent of uncompensated care goes to people in that income class," Nichols said. "The mandate makes them pay their fair share. For lower-income people you need to have subsidies, but you need sticks and carrots.". (FOXBusiness)
Crist's health plan a bad idea Feb 26, 2008
Public and not-for-profit hospitals rely on income from these procedures to help pay for more than $2 billion in uncompensated care that they provide each year, largely through emergency rooms that form a crucial safety net for all Florida residents. According to the Florida Hospital Association, 28 new hospitals have been approved over the last eight years, and existing hospitals have added thousands of beds. (Ocala.com)
In California, Insurers Take More Heat Feb 15, 2008
The state of NJ pays hospitals on a formula that is a political football in the NJ legislature, but that globally represents 20% of all uncompensated care, so, 80% of it is never paid for ... The pass thru to the general public occurs to the extent that insurers reimburse to hospitals that small component of uncompensated care ... If an error is made, and it is an honest error, than insurers are fully capable of absorbing that expense in the same manner that I absorb the cost of uncompensated... (Wall Street Journal)
Universal Detection Technology Launches Campaign to Market Anti MRSA Products Feb 13, 2008
Along with the Detroit Medical Center, WSU faculty physicians provide an average of $150 million in uncompensated care annually. For more information, please visit. (Primezone Releases)
Doctoring the Health System Jan 26, 2008
Hospitals dole out about $34 billion in uncompensated care a year, while another $37 billion is paid by people with coverage for those who are uninsured, according to the nonpartisan group National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC). Faced with out-of-control health-care costs and a growing number of employers cutting back on health benefits, state governments have decided that they can't wait for the next president to move into the White House and implement reform. (SmartMoney)
Adopt fair deal on insurance Jan 24, 2008
Doctors and other providers would be assured of payment and hospitals would have to provide less uncompensated care for uninsured patients. Other funds for the workers coverage, under Mr. Rendell s proposal, would come from a 10-cent-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax and the imposition of a new tax on other tobacco products. (Scranton Times, PA)
STATE BUDGET: Local health care officials praise Spitzer plan Jan 23, 2008
Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center President and CEO Joseph Ruffolo thinks Spitzer s proposed expansion of the state s Child Health Plus program coupled with his interest in reducing the cost of inpatient services related to Medicaid would help health care facility s like Memorial address one of their most pressing concerns: the high cost of uncompensated care. I think the governor is right on the money, Ruffolo said. (Niagara Gazette)
Pennsylvania hospitals under siege Jan 20, 2008
All the while revenue is pushed downward by pressures from an increasing number of patients seeking uncompensated care. That total rose from $461 million across Pennsylvania in fiscal 2001 to $543 million in fiscal 2005, according to HAP. Plus, hospitals are undercompensated by ever-lower reimbursements for Medicare and Medicaid patients, who make up the bulk of Northeastern Pennsylvania hospitals patient loads. (Scranton Times, PA)
Report outlines hospitals' ‘charity care' Jan 17, 2008
When the cost of uncompensated care was compared with the hospitals' operating expenses, all were at or below the national average of 5. 7 percent. (Missoulian, MT)
Unstable patient Jan 12, 2008
Mercy faces general economic issues that include tenuous Medicare and Medicaid funding, declining rates of insured patients and increasing rates of uncompensated care, a nursing shortage exacerbated by those unstable Medicare and Medicaid rates, and pressure to maintain state-of-the-art capability in several specialties. It also faces the potential merger of Community Medical Center and Moses Taylor Hospital, which is being facilitated and partly driven by the region s largest health insurer,... (Scranton Times, PA)
ER patients tired of the wait Jan 5, 2008
Waits are the norm because hospitals don't have the staff or beds to accommodate the swelling demand -- or the money to provide growing amounts of uncompensated care in the hospital unit where treatment is most expensive. All hospitals scramble to treat the sickest first, but wait times and success at seeing everybody who shows up vary significantly across the region. (Sacramento Business Journal, CA)
Businesses warm to idea of universal health care Jan 5, 2008
7 billion a year in uncompensated care, most of which is borne by employers through taxes and surcharges. There are also other, less quantifiable costs, such as lost productivity when workers are ill and the ripple effects when people go bankrupt trying to pay hospital bills. (Albany Business Review, NY)
PCRMC OKs 12 percent price hike Dec 22, 2007
To compensate for the fact that Medicare, Medicaid and Charity reimbursements will not increase despite the hospital s price increases, and assuming this uncompensated care will exceed 20 million, the resulting effect will be to increase charges to insured customers to make up for the deficit, Paule said. In the industry, this is referred to as cost shifting, Paule said. (Rolla Daily News, MO)
Financial Burden of the Uninsured Growing in Washington Dec 16, 2007
In 2002, the statewide financial burden of uncompensated care was $457 million, according to the report ... But all regions experienced climbing uncompensated care costs. (Insurance Journal)
Uncompensated hospital care up 19% locally Dec 14, 2007
Greater Cincinnati hospitals provided nearly $202 million in uncompensated care in 2006, a 19 percent increase from the year before, according to a recent study ... The survey includes data from 26 area hospitals and reports uncompensated care at cost. (Cincinnati Business Courier, OH)
Hospital's financial news provides encouragement Nov 23, 2007
That offset the uncompensated care, which was about $122 million. Community expanded the orthopedic program, added a special unit for stroke patients and added a 50,000-square-foot imaging center at the downtown regional medical center. (Fresno Bee)
Surplus of $9 million cheers hospital Nov 21, 2007
Spokesman John Zelezny said Community spent about $122 million in charity and uncompensated care. This was down slightly from about $124 million a year ago. (Fresno Bee)
Dispute over who pays for medical services Nov 19, 2007
Evans added, "We know there is a problem with the cost shift, especially in emergency rooms. They're having to cover the cost for uncompensated care because of the uninsured or because Medi-Cal is not paying them enough. If that is the real problem, it should be addressed, but we shouldn't put it on the back of consumers.". Anthony Wright - executive director of Health Access of California, a consumer advocacy group - said it is difficult to unravel who bears the greater responsibility for... (Marin Independent-Journal)
11 of 18 in burn unit undocumented Nov 1, 2007
Last year, San Diego County hospitals provided $619 million in uncompensated care, and an estimated 10 percent to 17 percent of that paid for treatment for undocumented immigrants, according to the Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties. Burn care requires ventilators, multiple surgeries, round-the-clock intensive care and grafts from human cadaveric skin. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Partnership with government can provide health care for all Oct 29, 2007
The system would eliminate uncompensated care, which every private provider faces today and the rest of us pay for through higher rates. By providing a national risk pool, we bring enormous clout to the marketplace that benefits everyone. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
New report: private/public insurance mix is most practical way to achieve universal coverage Oct 18, 2007
Affordable, comprehensive health insurance coverage for all Americans is essential to achieving a high performance health system, say the report authors, because coverage helps to ensure access to essential preventive services; improve overall health; cut down on inefficiencies like duplicate medical tests; reduce administrative costs; and eliminate costly uncompensated care for uninsured and underinsured families. However, the way coverage reform plans are designed will be critical to their... (EurekAlert!)
More of this story Oct 15, 2007
Bad debt, uncompensated care and difficulty recruiting physicians, but it is the status of reimbursement in Rhode Island that is the single greatest problem for The Westerly Hospital, and all Rhode Island hospitals. Our reimbursement is one of the lowest in the state. (Westerly Sun, RI)
Grady expects record deficit this year Oct 13, 2007
The agency is working on a new formula for distributing federal money to hospitals for uncompensated care to indigent patients. Grady Memorial Hospital has the highest losses of any Georgia hospital from services to Medicaid patients and those without health insurance. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Metro)
Bad Medicine for Health Care Oct 11, 2007
Individual mandate supporters typically justify the policy by citing the problem of uncompensated care ... It's that they simply get less care than most people (one reason uncompensated care is such a small fraction of health-care spending). (BusinessWeek)
TennCare garners federal approval for three more years Oct 10, 2007
"We were able to secure an agreement that allows TennCare to pay $115 million more to hospitals over the next three years to help offset uncompensated care than CMS' original proposal would have allowed," Goetz added ... The purpose of the payments is to assist with uncompensated care costs. (Nashville Business Journal, TN)
Report says Pa. health-care in 'critical condition' Oct 7, 2007
said the state's medical centers are struggling with Medicaid and Medicare payments that are below the cost of care and uncompensated care costs, which now top $500 million a year, for people with no insurance. "This report reinforces the need for increased hospital reimbursement, financial assistance for hospitals' investments in health information and clinical technology, and the implementation of health-care policies that provide hospitals with flexibility to meet these challenges," Scanlan... (Pittsburgh Business Times, PA)
Legislature OKs Return Of No-Fault Insurance Oct 6, 2007
"All hospitals would have been affected (if PIP hadn't returned) but trauma centers would have had a much greater increase in uncompensated care.". Over the summer and in special session this week, lawmakers devised a proposal to restore the system, but with new anti-fraud controls. (News4Jax.com, FL)
Insuring the uninsured ... Comprehensive plan input sought ... Carthage geared up for homecoming ... Carthage chamber official resigns ... Owner of Anderson Guest House arrested on fraud charge ... Emergency crews grateful for guard cables ... ';var marqueewidth="350px";var marqueeheight="25px";var marqueebgcolor="#FFFFFF";////NO NEED TO EDIT BELOW THIS LINE////////////var pauseit=1;var marqueespeed=1 //slow speed down by 1 for NSvar copyspeed=marqueespeedvar pausespeed=(pauseit==0)? copyspeed: 0var iedom=document.all||document.getElementByIdif (iedom)document.write(''+marqueecontent+'')var actualwidth=''var cross_marquee, ns_marqueefunction populate(){if (iedom){cross_marquee=document.getElementById? document.getElementById("iemarquee") : document.all.iemarqueecross_marquee.style.left=parseInt(marqueewidth)+8+"px"cross_marquee.innerHTML=marqueecontentactualwidth=document.all? temp.offsetWidth : document.getElementById("temp").offsetWidth}else if (document.layers){ns_marquee=document.ns_marquee.document.ns_marquee2ns_marquee.left=parseInt(marqueewidth)+8ns_marquee.document.write(marqueecontent)ns_marquee.document.close()actualwidth=ns_marquee.document.width}lefttime=setInterval("scrollmarquee()",20)}window.onload=populate;function scrollmarquee(){if (iedom){if (parseInt(cross_marquee.style.left)>(actualwidth*(-1)+8))cross_marquee.style.left=parseInt(cross_marquee.style.left)-copyspeed+"px"elsecross_marquee.style.left=parseInt(marqueewidth)+8+"px"}else if (document.layers){if (ns_marquee.left>(actualwidth*(-1)+8))ns_marquee.left-=copyspeedelsens_marquee.left=parseInt(marqueewidth)+8}}if (iedom||document.layers){with (document){document.write('')if (iedom){write('')write('')write('')write('')}else if (document.layers){write('')write('')write('')}document.write('')}}Wednesday, September 26, 2007 State Sen. Gary Nodler introduces Gov. Matt Blunt at a news conference Monday where Blunt told members of the media and staff at Freeman West Hospital about his new program to provide health insurance to about 200,000 Missourians who don't have insurance. John Hacker/Carthage Press Insuring the uninsured Sep 26, 2007
"Gary Duncan, president and CEO of Freeman Health Systems, said the plan means the governor acknowledges the impact of the uncompensated care hospitals provide on the cost of health care to those who have insurance. Duncan said uncompensated care makes up about 7 percent of Freeman's annual billings."I think what the governor is doing and acknowledging, is that we've got to stop the cost-shifting," Duncan said. "The more (the cost of uncompensated care) goes up, the more it falls over to those... (Carthage Press, MO)
The GOP's Health Care Consensus Sep 25, 2007
Finally, Republicans have also proposed allowing states more latitude in using Medicaid dollars that now pay for "uncompensated care" (which mostly covers care for the uninsured who do not directly qualify for Medicare) to provide subsidies for the uninsured to help them buy their own private coverage. As governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney used such an approach. (CBS News)
Preserve CHIP for kids' health Sep 2, 2007
The difference is passed on through higher insurance premiums for everybody else or in the government's costs for uncompensated care. And those costs are often higher than necessary because vast experience shows that uninsured people tend not to seek treatment until their conditions leave them no choice. (Wilkes Barre Citizen's Voice, PA)
Let states fund CHIP as needed Aug 29, 2007
The difference is passed on through higher insurance premiums for everybody else or in the government s costs for uncompensated care. And those costs are often higher than necessary because vast experience shows that uninsured people tend not to seek treatment until their conditions leave them no choice. (Scranton Times, PA)
Insured figures called faulty Aug 29, 2007
Clinics such as Health Right have reported a rise in uninsured patients, White said, and hospitals have reported an increase in uncompensated care. A recent survey showed that free clinics across the state turned away or delayed care to about 29,000 people without insurance last year. (Charleston Gazette, WV -- News)
READ MORE > Aug 24, 2007
"The seductive idea behind this individual mandate is that responsible Massachusetts policyholders and taxpayers should no longer have to pay 1 billion per year in uncompensated care for free-riding uninsured individuals," Ronald Bailey wrote in March in an online publication for the Reason Foundation ... Iowa's community hospitals provided uncompensated care in 2005 costing 240 million, according to the Iowa Hospital Association. (Sioux City Journal, IO)
Lessons from Massachusetts Aug 24, 2007
It had already spent substantial sums reimbursing hospitals for uncompensated care from state coffers ... It had already spent substantial sums reimbursing hospitals for uncompensated care from state coffers. (Townhall.com)
Why Arnold Is Wrong And The Free Market Is Right Aug 21, 2007
This is the so-called free-rider problem, and although it is a real issue, the cost of uncompensated care is hardly a crisis. According to The Council for Affordable Health Insurance, uncompensated care is about 2. (Human Events Online)
SCHIP: Program must be stabilized Aug 19, 2007
Those children end up in hospital emergency rooms with the hospitals performing totally uncompensated care at the highest rates possible. SCHIP represents the most coverage for the least amount of Mississippi taxpayer investment. (The Clarion-Ledger)
Mass. Cooks Up Health Care Experiment Aug 17, 2007
" So far, only a few thousand people a month have signed up, but the deadline is still four months away, and even then the penalty for noncompliance is weak. Those who can't show proof of insurance by the end of 2007 lose their state tax exemption when they file their income taxes in 2008, or about $219. The penalty increases in January 2008. For every month in 2008 that they don't have insurance, residents will have to pay a penalty of up to half the cost of the lowest-cost plan. That could be... (NBC 11, CA)
Perdue's insurance fix shouldn't become another entitlement Aug 11, 2007
We are going to end up paying more in uncompensated care. The verdict. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Opinion)
Okie: Immigrants & Health Care Aug 10, 2007
Nevertheless, the soaring cost of uncompensated care (see graph A) has made the problem of providing care for uninsured immigrants a hot political issue, particularly in border states and those (such as the southeastern states) whose immigrant populations have grown rapidly in recent years ... "Clearly, there are medical needs faced by this population," said Belsh, "and the emergency room is not the most cost-effective place for [addressing] them." In addition, undocumented immigrants may... (Zmag.org)
An unsustainable situation: Absorbing uncompensated care grows onerous Aug 9, 2007
An increasingly painful thorn in the sides of physicians and hospitals, uncompensated care is not unique to NEPA. According to a report of hospital finances generated by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, during fiscal 2006 all state hospitals reported that uncompensated care influenced their bottom lines ... Half of NEPA hospitals lost money during that time period, and for all of Pennsylvania general acute hospitals spent $598 million in uncompensated care ... "All of the... (Pennsylvania Northeast Business Journal, PA)
Dimensions Healthcare board votes to take legal action against county Jul 4, 2007
Increasing the rates "was counter-productive in the long term, but was necessary to generate revenue in the short term," said William Grimes, vice president of materials management for the system, who said Dimensions paid more than $13 million in uncompensated care last year. While each party points fingers at the other for not providing adequate amounts of care and dollars, this latest vote begs the question of who will submit to the other first. (Washington Business Journal, DC)
Massachusetts begins health-care experiment Jul 1, 2007
Sunday, July 1, 2007 - Page updated at 12:04 AM. The Massachusetts plan. (Seattle Times)
How to nurse Grady hospital back to health Jul 1, 2007
All are experiencing similar problems with the high cost of uncompensated care threatening their ability to provide other services ... By assessing small surcharges on vehicle registrations or cell phone bills, or by devoting a share of taxes on car insurance premiums, Georgia could finance much of the estimated $170 million in uncompensated care that trauma units at Grady and other hospitals around the state now provide. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
ROBERT E. MOFFIT: We all have responsibility to pay our own health costs Jun 25, 2007
Somehow, these people should pay something that could be used to offset, to some degree, a portion of the rising costs of the uncompensated care. This is no different than requiring residents of a city to pay some kind of tax for local community services such as roads, schools, police and fire services. (Fresno Bee -- Opinion)
UMC in dire need of trauma surgeons Jun 24, 2007
A high percentage of uncompensated care coming through trauma centers is partially to blame for the lower salaries. "With other surgeries, you can screen for insurance and decide not to operate," Potter said. (The Clarion-Ledger)
Letters to the editor: June 22 Jun 22, 2007
Baptist and Sacred Heart spend tens of millions of dollars each year providing uncompensated care to people in the community. That's not going to change. (Pensacola News Journal)
Health care for illegals? Jun 20, 2007
Never mind also that the California Hospital Association estimates undocumented immigrants account for barely 10 percent of the $7 billion in uncompensated care given out last year by the state's hospitals. The possibility that illegal immigrants about 84 percent of whom come from Mexico might soon get universal health care stems from a new approach to them by the Mexican government. (Daily Triplicate)
Health tax up to voters Jun 17, 2007
Escambia's three major hospitals provided about $31 million a year in uncompensated care in 2003, according to the MGT study. The preponderance of that care was by Baptist and Sacred Heart. (Pensacola News Journal)
Perry Signs Medicaid Reform Plan Into Law Jun 15, 2007
A third option establishes a funding pool setting aside part of federal uncompensated care money to connect low-income families with private health care. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt also attended the news conference at John Peter Smith Hospital, the county's hospital. (CBS 11, TX)
