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Many consumers choose to hold off on seeking care when they have no health insurance or when their health care coverage plans require that they shell out from $500 to well over $1,000 before insurance kicks in. Patients endanger their health by cutting corners, and when the situation ultimately becomes an emergency, the costs for both the patient and the health care provider are much greater. Ohio hospitals provided $636.5 million in free care in 2004 to low-income patients above and below the federal poverty line, and much of this total reflects a lack of preventive care or expensive emergency care caused in part by delays in seeking medical attention.
In addition to the charity care they provide, hospitals
sustain a certain amount of bad debt each year when patients
do not or cannot pay bills. In 2004, Ohio hospitals provided
$505.4 million in health care services for which they
expected payment that was not received. Hospitals operate
differently than typical businesses. They don’t run credit
checks before hooking up heart monitors or tending to
accident victims—they care for patients first and address
payment later. Unlike other organizations, hospitals don’t
and can’t turn away those with a bad credit or payment
history or those lacking insurance or the ability to pay.
Though no consistent trend data exists on the amount of bad
debt sustained by Ohio’s hospitals, health care providers
throughout the country are reporting dangerous growth in
their levels of bad debt. And hospitals can sustain only a
limited amount of bad debt before needing to recoup the
costs in other areas – perhaps by reducing services.
To learn more, read OHA’s complete October Healthbeat
article at
www.ohanet.org/healthbeat/2006/1006.htm. Save Havens Law Saves Six Ohio Newborns Six newborn babies were safely surrendered to county children services programs last year thanks to the state’s Safe Havens law, according to an Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) announcement last week (http://jfs.ohio.gov/releases/rl102506.stm). Safe Havens allows parents, without threat of prosecution, to surrender infants less than 72 hours hold to a medical worker at a hospital, law enforcement personnel or an emergency service group. Since the law was enacted in 2001, 43 babies have been safely surrendered. In addition to accepting Safe Havens babies, hospitals play a large role in educating their communities about this law. Hospitals can access and order copies of outreach materials, including a brochure and poster, on the ODJFS Web site at http://jfs.ohio.gov/safehavens/. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org) Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2006 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award Kathryn Baldeschwiler
A look
inside Kathryn’s nomination –
Wednesday,
November 1, 2006
Hospitals’
Heartbeat
Debra L.
Gross
A look
inside Debra’s nomination –
Thursday,
November 2, 2006
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this week released the 2007 hospital outpatient prospective payment system final rule. The final rule does not link inpatient quality reporting to the outpatient payment update and instead focuses on developing outpatient quality measures. CMS will develop the outpatient quality measures and require hospitals to report on them starting in 2009. In addition, CMS will now pay for five levels of services – instead of the current three levels – for evaluation and management services performed in emergency departments and clinics. The rule contains a 3.4 percent market basket update for hospitals. The agency also released the final rule for the physician fee schedule, which includes a 5.2 percent cut in payments to physicians. The final rule will be posted shortly at www.cms.hhs.gov/center/hospital.asp. OHA will distribute a detailed analysis of the rule to hospitals next week. (Charles Cataline, charlesc@ohanet.org) Proposed GXMO Rules Available for
Comment Significant rule revisions include:
Submit comments on the proposed rules vial e-mail at Bradiation@odh.ohio.gov or by mail to:
Ohio
Department of Health, Bureau of Radiation Protection
Hospitals’
Heartbeat
Kathryn
Holley, RN
A look
inside Kathryn’s nomination –
Friday, November 3, 2006 Ohio hospitals continue to receive recognition for their high quality care and innovative efforts. Eleven Ohio hospitals were among the 371 of the nation’s largest hospitals recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for substantially raising the organ donation rates of eligible donors from their facilities. View recognized hospitals. OHA congratulates the Ohio hospitals named by The Leapfrog Group to its first Top Hospitals List for 2006: Akron General Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, the Ohio State University Medical Center, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Columbus Children’s Hospital and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. See the full list. Fifteen Ohio hospitals and health systems were named NorthCoast 99 winners—recognized by the Employers Resource Council as the Best Places to Work in Northeast Ohio. Catholic Healthcare Partners, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and OhioHealth appeared on the Information 500 list, honored as innovative users of information technology. Workforce management company Kronos Inc. presented a best practices award to Ohio State University Medical Center for its effective use of a system that assists in a timely and strategic placement of staff throughout the facility in response to patient census and other varying demands. OSU Med Center was also one of five academic medical centers nationally to be recognized by the University HealthSystem Consortium for delivering high-quality, safe, effective and equitable care to patients. The American Nurses Credentialing Center awarded Robinson Memorial Hospital, Ravenna, Magnet status. The Emergency Chest Pain Center at Mercy Medical Center, Canton, received the Society of Chest Pain Centers’ full Cycle II Accreditation with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) and Lima Memorial Health System was awarded full accreditation as a Chest Pain Center with PCI. Middletown Regional Hospital’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program earned a three-year certification from the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. The echocardiography lab at The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton was accredited in pediatric transthoracic echocardiography by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories. The Stroke Center at Lakewood Hospital earned the Gold Seal of Approval and certification as a Primary Stroke Center from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Flower Hospital, Sylvania, earned certification for the quality of care it provides to diverse patients from The Center for Multicultural Competency in Healthcare Organizations. Linda Niles, CEO of Adams County Hospital, West Union, was honored with the Distinguished Rural Administrator of the Year Award. Ann Lensch, RN, MS, breast care coordinator and certified breast health specialist with Good Samaritan Hospital, Dayton, was awarded with the 2006 Janet Voinovich Service Award, which recognizes outstanding performance in the areas of breast and cervical cancer education and service. (Mary Sterenberg, marys@ohanet.org) © 2001-2008 OHA. Last updated
January 03, 2008. |
