Group, Dr. Ronald B. Goodspeed
With the uninsured population growing, many hospitals have seen sharp increases
in the amount of “free care” they provide.
Southcoast Hospitals Group in southeastern Massachusetts said this month that a spike in the cost of treating uninsured patients was perhaps the biggest factor for its $5.1 million loss on operations for fiscal 2003, which ended Sept. 30.
The hospital system, which includes Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford and Tobey Hospital in Wareham, said it plans to lay off 52 workers, reduce the hours of 32 more and cut some services in an effort to bridge its budget shortfall.
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Dr. Ronald B. Goodspeed, president of Southcoast Hospital Groups, said the system has seen the cost of treating uninsured or indigent patients jump from $8.2 million last year to $11.2 million in 2003.
The majority of uninsured patients come through the emergency department, often requiring diagnostic tests and subsequent hospital stays, surgery or other procedures, he said.
“These are folks who are for the most part working but just don’t have health insurance,” Goodspeed said. “They’re working for employers who can’t afford to offer insurance, or the benefit is offered at such a rate that the employee’s share of the premium is too high,” he said.
Edward J. Quinlan, president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, said many hospitals have reported a rise in expenses associated with providing free care.
Massachusetts has a $345 million “Uncompensated Care Pool” to defray hospitals’ costs of providing free care. The fund is generated mostly from an assessment on hospitals and surcharges on HMOs, along $30 million in state funds.
But the pool offers little help, Goodspeed said – especially in southeastern Massachusetts, which has a higher concentration of uninsured and low-income patients than other parts of the state.
Goodspeed said Southcoast received $4.9 million from the pool to help cover its $11.2 million in uncompensated care costs – but the health system paid $4.7 million into the fund.
He added that state and federal reimbursement payments also fall far short of covering the cost of providing care. He estimates that the Medicaid program in Massachusetts covers just 70 percent of the cost of providing care.
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