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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)
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)
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)
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 Okie: Immigrants & Health Care Aug 10, 2007 An unsustainable situation: Absorbing uncompensated care grows onerous Aug 9, 2007 Dimensions Healthcare board votes to take legal action against county Jul 4, 2007 Massachusetts begins health-care experiment Jul 1, 2007 How to nurse Grady hospital back to health Jul 1, 2007 ROBERT E. MOFFIT: We all have responsibility to pay our own health costs Jun 25, 2007 UMC in dire need of trauma surgeons Jun 24, 2007 Letters to the editor: June 22 Jun 22, 2007 Health care for illegals? Jun 20, 2007 Health tax up to voters Jun 17, 2007 Perry Signs Medicaid Reform Plan Into Law Jun 15, 2007 Studies say Texas lags in health care access Jun 14, 2007 Viewpoint: Health-care tax hurts the poor Jun 11, 2007 Union says Beth Israel overbills the state Jun 9, 2007 Moses Cone tallies up 2006 benefits to the community Jun 4, 2007 Current events prove folly of tying health care to jobs May 30, 2007 Health care debate's 'hidden tax' is exposed May 29, 2007 Governor is right to consider no-fault law for special session May 29, 2007 Health care finally on front burner May 21, 2007 Gap widens between what insurers, uninsured pay May 8, 2007 Uninsured billed at full price, study finds May 8, 2007 Bill seeks to insure all children Apr 27, 2007 Governor: Local Hospitals Losing Million$ Due To Uninsured Apr 18, 2007 Rallying for a remedy Apr 18, 2007 Senate Budget Would Hit Hospitals Apr 17, 2007 Community hospitals go under the scope Apr 11, 2007 Minnesota Hospitals struggling with cost of caring for the uninsured Apr 9, 2007 Roper's mea culpa Apr 6, 2007 Panel kills bill to expand health plan availability Apr 5, 2007 Op-Ed: Universal healthcare's dirty secret Apr 5, 2007 Funding uncertain for Arkansas trauma network Mar 28, 2007 Help wanted Mar 18, 2007 ALEX GERBER: The health care crisis Mar 18, 2007 Budget cuts not so easy Mar 14, 2007 Firm helps hospitals ID eligible patients Mar 9, 2007 BNH Talks to the Advocates Mar 6, 2007 Line items and lifelines Mar 2, 2007 Uninsured kids ailing Mar 2, 2007 Governors Seek Aid for Child Health Care Mar 1, 2007 Fact Sheet: Making Private Health Insurance More Affordable for Low-Income Americans Feb 24, 2007 Democrats worry Schwarzenegger's health proposal will raise costs Feb 16, 2007 States and U.S. at Odds on Aid for Uninsured Feb 14, 2007 Hospitals go head to head for trauma care designation Feb 13, 2007 GOVERNOR PERRY PRAISED BY LOCAL HEALTH OFFICIALS Feb 7, 2007 Like hospitals, insurance system is also in crisis Jan 29, 2007 Groups unite with plan to help reduce number of uninsured Jan 22, 2007 Saving the ER for emergencies Jan 22, 2007 Health care plan affects everyone Jan 21, 2007 Many Businesses Fear Health Care Costs Jan 21, 2007 Group presses Congress to extend health coverage Jan 20, 2007 Health care proposal omits illegal immigrant adults Jan 19, 2007 Remedy needed for NM's ailing healthcare situation Jan 18, 2007 Health care gets cheaper for some Jan 16, 2007 Barbour's State of the State Speech Jan 16, 2007 Insurance deadline looms Jan 16, 2007 Senator: Medicare for everyone Jan 14, 2007 Stephanie Day entertains her classmates during arts and crafts time Friday in Betty Maxwell’s kindergarten class at Burnett Elementary. Top Stories Outgoing CEO says changes a must Jan 14, 2007 Students from Edgewood Intermediate School in Wills Point take a brake from playing to have lunch Tuesday. The fourth- and fifth-graders were being rewarded with a movie and a day at the park for their excellent performance in the accellerated reading program. Top Stories City says health care priority No. 1 Jan 12, 2007 Hospitals pay $150M in unreimbursed costs Jan 11, 2007 Colonial Lodge Retirement Inn mascot known as Pete Swafford hitches a ridge as resident Eleanor Guffey, 81, takes a morning stroll around the facility. Top Stories Medical Center at Terrell closing doors Jan 11, 2007 Jamal Irving (front) and J.C. Ivy brush up on their computer skills in Jane Karimi's kindergarten class Monday at Burnett Elementary. Top Stories Medical Center at Terrell closing doors Jan 10, 2007 SWEEPING STATE HEALTH PLAN Jan 9, 2007 Governor's new idea for funding health care Jan 6, 2007 HEALTH COVERAGE: Insurer, provider cut ties Jan 1, 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)
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 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)
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)
Sunday, July 1, 2007 - Page updated at 12:04 AM. The Massachusetts plan. (Seattle Times)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Total uncompensated care including bad debt from people who can't pay their bills and charity care that hospitals agree to provide increased 78 percent, from $5. 6 billion in 2001 to $10. (KHOU.com, TX)
Hospitals will continue to provide charity and uncompensated care as they have always done. Doctors will serve on the board and help determine adequate reimbursement rates. (Pensacola News Journal)
Judy Glasser, spokeswoman for Beth Israel Deaconess, said, "We have followed all the rules and regulations regarding the uncompensated care pool and have never received any indication that there's anything out of order with what we've submitted to the state.". SEIU is the largest union in the United States with 1. (Boston Globe)
The biggest chunk of the benefits is the $90 million the system says it provided in "uncompensated care." In addition to charity care, when a hospital consciously waives or discounts its fees to people without insurance without the means to pay, the figure includes, for example, almost $44 million in losses providing care to Medicare and Medicaid ... 1 million in uncompensated care. (Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area)
Four hundred physicians filed a lawsuit against the state seeking payment for uncompensated care, and massive numbers of doctors and nurses have left the area. In Washington, a conference held by the American College of Emergency Physicians revealed that New Orleans may have it worst, but emergency rooms everywhere are drowning in patients. (Scranton Times, PA)
"In addition, the foundation implausibly assumes that privately insured persons bear all the costs of the uninsured -- that neither doctors, nor hospitals, nor insurance companies, nor self-pay patients, nor the government bear any of that burden."Moreover, the Hoover study calculated that even if the "implausible assumption that all uncompensated care costs are passed on to the privately insured," the "hidden tax" is only 2. 8% of health insurance premiums, not the 10% that New America... (Fresno Bee -- Local)
Without PIP, hospitals will provide even more uncompensated care, which is already straining the system. This could endanger trauma centers, especially those outside major metropolitan areas that are financially struggling to stay open. (Herald-Tribune)
The Medical College of Georgia is not an indigent care hospital, but, as a safety net hospital, last year we provided 19 percent of our gross patient care revenue, or $139 million in uncompensated care. Unless reimbursement rates substantially improve to offset the loss of Medicaid funds, the president's proposal would pull the rug out from under hospitals such as MCG.. (The Augusta Chronicle)
Hospitals provide $25 billion a year in uncompensated care every year, according to the AHA.. Posted. (USA Today -- Money)
Hospitals in large part have borne the brunt of caring for the country's uninsured population, Emerson said, with uncompensated care in their emergency rooms and by writing off what uninsured patients are unable to pay. The full-price rates, which in part give the starting point in negotiations with private insurers, have gone up to make up for some of those losses. (Los Angeles Times)
If we can provide more preventative care for children, we can alleviate some of the financial drain on our hospitals" by expenses such as uncompensated care for patients without health insurance or means to pay hospital costs. Pointing to a report done last year for the Joint Committee on Health Care, Paiva Weed said there are 2,461 people employed by one of six companies, or those employees' dependants, who are beneficiaries of public programs such as RIte Care because their employer does not... (Pawtucket Times, RI)
SAN DIEGO -- San Diego hospitals are losing millions of dollars due to uncompensated care, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Tuesday. He toured the emergency room at Scripps Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest as part of his effort to turn attention to lost funds plaguing San Diego County hospitals. (NBCSandiego.com, CA)
Countywide, hospitals racked up $620 million in so-called uncompensated care ... 7 million in uncompensated care that Scripps Mercy Hospital and its Mercy Clinic said they were owed in fiscal 2006. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
Even with LIP help, uncompensated care cost LRMC $73 million in 2005-2006, Powers said. With more cuts, hospitals will have unpalatable choices, such as cutting services or increasing the impact on people with private insurance. (The Ledger)
Beyond noting the financial stresses hospitals are facing from more stringent management of health care reimbursements, and the heavier burden hospitals carry for providing uncompensated care, state officials did not detail specific problems faced by hospitals such as Landmark, Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, Kent County, South County and St. Joseph's in North Providence ... Landmark, which listed $12 million worth of uncompensated care last year while experiencing an overall operational loss of... (Pawtucket Times, RI)
According to the Minnesota Health Department, total uncompensated care in Minnesota reached 191 ... Last year, uncompensated care charity care and bad debt at Regions Hospital in St. Paul was up 28 percent to 41 ... At St. Mary s Medical Center in Duluth, uncompensated care rose. (Winona Daily News, MN)
Medical bills that previously would have been unpaid will be recorded as charity care rather than bad debt, improving UNC Hospitals' uncompensated care figures. The program also could generate a marginal increase in revenue, McCall says, through UNC Hospitals' ability to collect at least a portion of unmanageable medical debt. (Raleigh Triangle Business Journal, NC)
For the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, the problem with the bill is the potential for uncompensated care, people showing up in hospital emergency rooms without coverage, meaning the hospital may not get paid. Lobbyist Elizabeth Baskett pointed out that, unlike business coverage, the legislation did not require any "go bare" period for individuals. (AZCentral -- Business)
According to Jack Hadley and John Holahan of the left-leaning Urban Institute, uncompensated care for the uninsured amounts to less than 3% of total healthcare spending a real cost, no doubt, but hardly a crisis. Everyone agrees that far too many Americans lack health insurance. (Los Angeles Times)
Up to $14 million in uncompensated care each year at The Med comes from indigent patients from Arkansas. Partial payments of $1 million-$3 million each year from Arkansas will continue. (Memphis Business Journal, TN)
$89 million -- Amount of uncompensated care supplied by Providence and Alaska Regional hospitals in 2006. $1,400 -- Typical annual cost per child for health insurance through Alaska's Denali KidCare program. (Anchorage Daily News)
The majority are obviously receiving care, admittedly delayed, somewhere -- emergency rooms, public hospitals or uncompensated care at private hospitals and clinics -- with a "cost shift" to the insured. We thus already largely pay for the care of the uninsured. (Washington Times)
Taking away an $11 million increase in state aid to hospitals struggling with the costs of uncompensated care -- those are the bills left behind by people without insurance. $1 million less than the Department of Natural Resources had requested for wildfire season preparations. (Anchorage Daily News)
Uncompensated care cost U.S. hospitals $28 ... "If that individual does not have a source of payment, particularly if they're low-income, the hospital is probably going to write that off as uncompensated care," said Jennifer Tolbert, a principal policy analyst with the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured ... Uncompensated care is the cost hospitals incur from treating patients for which they receive no payment. (AZCentral -- Business)
Even though Connecticut has some of the highest level of insured rates in the country, the uninsured who are going into the hospitals are still providing a significant cost drain on those hospitals even with the state providing significant [reimbursement] through the uncompensated care program. The Charter Oak program will provide additional funding to providers including hospitals, and we didn't reduce the uncompensated care pool. (Connecticut Business News Journal)
He would also allow money to be transferred to the Connector from the uncompensated care pool that defrays the cost of hospital care for the uninsured. This would fulfill the intent of the 2006 law. (Boston Globe)
In 2004, more than $25 billion in uncompensated care was borne by hospitals, according to the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. Hospitals are "the last resort of care," said Molly Collins Offner of the American Hospital Association, which also disputed the study. (USA Today -- News)
"You end up paying for this in other ways _ uncompensated care, emergency rooms," Corzine said. "This is pay me now or pay me later.". (CBS News)
Medicare and Medicaid payments to providers include indirect payments for uncompensated care. The Health Care System Could Operate More Efficiently If Some Portion Of Institutional Payments Instead Were Redirected To Help The Poor And The Sick Afford Health Insurance. (White House News Releases)
The hospital lobby worried the governor's plan would take away the payments hospitals receive for uncompensated care before the plan made any serious progress in reducing the number of uninsured people. "Universal coverage won't happen overnight," said Martin Gallegos of the California Hospital Association. (Fresno Bee -- Business)
Knowing they cannot count on a major infusion of federal money, some states are looking to their own revenue sources, including tobacco taxes, pools of money set aside for charity care and uncompensated care, and assessments levied on employers who do not provide health benefits to their workers. Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, has proposed paying for coverage of the uninsured through a variety of new taxes, including an increase in the state;s tobacco tax. (Foster's Daily Democrat)
The health system has been criticized in recent years for not providing nearly as much uncompensated care as its competitors, but a trauma center could begin to change that. When a trauma emergency strikes, the patient is taken to the closest hospital, regardless of their insurance or ability to pay. (Sacramento Business Journal, CA)
In 2006, East Texas Medical Center had $320 million worth of uncompensated care from uninsured and underinsured patients in the region ($198 million of that came from Tyler), said Rebecca Berkley, ETMC public relations manager. That same year, UTHCT had $20 million worth of uncompensated care and, while Trinity Mother Frances Health System officials did not have an exact figure, hospital spokesman John Moore said the system spent tens of millions of dollars. (Tyler Morning Telegraph, TX)
It would be better to reverse that situation, or to pay for uncompensated care out of the state's general revenues. Gov. Eliot Spitzer has proposed to guarantee access to health insurance for all uninsured children in the state, and to get all adults who are eligible for Medicaid actually enrolled. (Buffalo News -- Opinion)
While the group had no cost estimates for plans to expand coverage for adults, members agreed that to do nothing would cost more in the form of higher insurance premiums and taxpayer coverage of uncompensated care. "These recommendations provide a realistic blueprint for immediate action by a bipartisan and caring Congress. We need more action and less debate," said Reed Tuckson, senior vice president at the United Health Foundation. (Seattle Times)
Collectively, they have strained the more than 70 emergency rooms in the county to the breaking point, helping to boost uncompensated care costs to $1. 6 billion annually. (Los Angeles Times)
Mr. Rendell proposed a 3 percent payroll tax on any company with more than 50 employees that does not offer health insurance, higher taxes on cigarettes, new taxes on smokeless tobacco and cigars, federal grants for health care innovation, and redirection of current funds that now pay hospitals for uncompensated care. He would endow the state insurance commissioner with the sorely needed authority to rule on health insurance rate increases. (Scranton Times, PA)
Businesses shoulder some of the expense of the uninsured, because part of the rates they pay to hospitals and other health care providers goes to the cost of uncompensated care. On the other hand, Renz said, some states might demand that large employers provide health care coverage to part-time or temporary workers, which would be a major expense. (Sunspot.net -- Business)
While the group had no cost estimates for their plans to expand coverage for adults, they agreed that to do nothing would cost more in the form of higher insurance premiums and taxpayer coverage of uncompensated care. "These recommendations provide a realistic blueprint for immediate action by a bipartisan and caring Congress. We need more action and less debate," said Reed Tuckson, senior vice president at the United Health Foundation. (San Jose Mercury News)
Figueroa explained that Schwarzenegger's plan would redirect billions of dollars now spent at public hospitals on uncompensated care to buy coverage for the uninsured. But at least $2 billion would be left over for counties and public hospitals to use to cover the undocumented adults that would still lack insurance. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Politics)
The associated cost of this problem impacts everyone in our society, whether through higher premiums due to uncompensated care to providers and hospitals or lost productivity in the workplace. Fortunately, Gov. Bill Richardson is taking steps to address this issue. (Rio Rancho Observer, NM)
The state is seeking to recover some of the costs of free care that traditionally have been covered by the Uncompensated Care Pool, funded by health insurance companies (from premiums paid by the insured), hospitals and the state. Four private insurance companies will administer Commonwealth Care, and each person who enrolls must choose one of the four: Boston Medical Center's BMC HealthNet, Fallon Community Health Plan, Neighborhood Health Plan or Network Health. (The Standard-Times, MA)
Our health care providers have received $73 million as reimbursement for care they provided free to disaster victims; the University of Mississippi Medical Center received $20 million to help pay for such uncompensated care. Important from the state budget point-of-view, the State has received some $517 million as part of an emergency health care package led by Senator Lott and Congressman Pickering. (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)
Officials will contact 73,000 people known to be uninsured because they have participated in the free care or uncompensated care pool for impoverished and uninsured people, he said. On the Cape, CACCI has enrolled about 400 people eligible in various income categories, said Camila DeOliveira, program manager of the nonprofit agency's Hope Project, which helps get people insurance. (Cape Cod Times, MA)
The $600 billion annual cost of the plan, which would be financed through payroll taxes and general government revenues, would be partially offset by $380 billion per year in predicted savings from reduced administrative costs, adopting electronic health records and eliminating uncompensated care for the uninsured. To pay for the rest, a payroll tax of 7 percent for employers and 1. (Monsters and Critics.com)
ndigent care and uncompensated care are not necessarily the same. Indigent care is somebody who really can't pay for it and really does not have the means to pay for their health care, Countryman said. (Terrell Tribune, TX)
annonymous wrote on January 11, 2007 9:46 PM:"Hey, let's keep our eye on the ball--the root of the problem is uncompensated care. I still think you should know exactly how much Kaufman County received from the State for indigent care and how much money they actually reimbursed the hospitals in Kaufman County for indigent care in the past year. I know you would be appalled. There was a large number quoted by County officials in the DMN, however that was very misleading. Make them get down to... (Terrell Tribune, TX)
"We're continuing to see charity care and uncompensated care for our facilities go up, which is a big concern of ours," said Rich Meiers, Healthcare Association president and chief executive officer. "If projections continue, the $103.4 million that was reported for 2005, which is up from $98 million, next year is going to be $108.2 million.". (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
7 million in uncompensated care ... Uncompensated care has reached the point that 30% of emergency room and hospital admissions go unpaid ... In sum, if a hospital is to continue to exist in Terrell, the problems of lack of community support and uncompensated care must be overcome. (Terrell Tribune, TX)
7 million in uncompensated care ... R. Wayne Porter, M.D., Terrell Physician wrote on January 09, 2007 6:16 PM:"There are probably going to be a lot of comments posted here, many of which will not, unfortunately, be well informed. There are a number of factors that have contributed to the decision by Resurgence Health Group to cease operation of Medical Center at Terrell. The net result is that the hospital has failed to be profitable for them. A company can continue to operate a losing... (Terrell Tribune, TX)
" Although complaints about the governor's plan were largely muted Monday, there were hints of the rhetoric that could be used in the coming political fight. A "coverage dividend" was how Kim Belshe, the governor's Cabinet secretary for health care issues, described a 2 percent tax on doctors and a 4 percent tax on hospitals. Dr. Anmol Singh Mahal, president of the California Medical Association, called it a tax. "A tax on physicians is really a tax on those who are sick, because it is the sick... (San Francisco Chronicle -- Politics)
6 billion in uncompensated care costs are shifted by hospitals and other providers to private payers. At a news conference last month, Schwarzenegger called the shift a "hidden tax" on the insured. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Funtleyder said disputes between insurance providers and hospitals over reimbursement rates will continue as hospitals become more expensive to run with uncompensated care. "These kinds of limitations of access, that really does spook people,'' he said. "Right now, you have limited access to certain hospitals in Nevada. (Las Vegas Review-Journal -- Nevada News)
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