Spokane7
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November 28, 2010 in City
Free medical services soar at region’s hospitals
They have given away nearly 50 percent more care this year
Spokane hospitals have given away $53.3 million worth of medical care to the poor during the first nine months of this year as job losses and wage and benefit cuts affect more people.
During the same time period last year the hospitals had recorded $36.3 million of charity care.
Most discounted care is borne by Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, the region’s largest hospital. So far this year Sacred Heart has given away $30.4 million in charity care, a number that outpaced expectations and led executives to ax programs and lay off dozens of employees.
At the same time, Deaconess has provided $5.4 million in charity care this year.
And yet the numbers released by the Washington State Department of Health also show that Deaconess has so far lost a little over $200,000 this year. Sacred Heart, by comparison, has earned $30.1 million.
The numbers show that Sacred Heart continues to outpace its smaller rival, even as Deaconess aligns more closely with Rockwood Clinic. Both of the latter are now owned by Community Health Systems Inc., which does not normally discuss financial results of its individual hospitals. The company, publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, does give periodic updates to analysts and files quarterly and year-end corporate reports.
Deaconess and sister property Valley Hospital and Medical Center restated their financial reports this month, said Randy Huyck, an analyst with the health department.
And while the numbers show operating losses for Deaconess, the financial trends are moving upward.
The two hospitals have seen hundreds more patients, as Rockwood doctors begin referring more people in need of hospitalization to Deaconess and Valley. The hospitals also provided more charity care and are making more money.
During the first nine months of 2009, for example, Deaconess lost about $7.4 million, while Valley earned about $1.7 million. Reports for the same period this year show Deaconess has cut its losses to $207,832 while Valley has doubled its profit to about $3.4 million.
Sacred Heart has been able to keep its patient numbers up, but its partner Providence Holy Family Hospital has struggled. Patient numbers there are down and charity care is higher; so far this year Holy Family has earned $752,330 compared to $8.8 million during the same time last year.
Year-end data for the hospitals won’t be available until mid-February.
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west on November 28 at 2:59 p.m.
The poor will outnumber the insured pretty quick…..
PhiltheBibliophil on November 28 at 4:56 p.m.
I have yet to understand how this “Free medical care” works! You have no insurance and you have an emergency. So you go to the ER. You’re there for about 3-4 hours, have a couple tests and/or they stitch you up. Then you get a bill from the hospital of $2500, a bill from the doctor of $500, a bill from the imaging company for $200 and who knows who else. Now, they hound you for 90 days with bills and then when you can’t pay all of it they tuirn you over to some scum sucking bottom feeder collection company who now calls night and day who in turn hires a scum sucking bottom feeder attorney who guarnishes your wages and attaches your bank account and ruins your credit and doubles the cost of the already overpriced bill. How is that “Free?”
D Statler on November 28 at 8:08 p.m.
The free numbers are what they wrote off for tax purposes. This is nothing more than shifting the large burden to the government.Don’t think for a second these buisnesses would still be in buisness lossing that kind of money. The numbers are artificially inflated to justify the insurance industries and medical service providers continuous increases.We the taxpayers end up paying higher taxes (OBAMACARE) and higher premiums for our insurance and co-pays. I thank the hospitals for providing overpriced help to these people in need. I would tend to believe the government would be better off (cheaper) providing a free hospital / clinic for the poor. The monies being writen off for these overpriced services is astromical. Probably some unemployed doctors and nurses already being paid by us willing to go to work. JUST A THOUGHT !
Dazzeetrader11 on November 28 at 10:27 p.m.
Wait till Obamascare shows up! lol… you won’t be able to just wander in. And if you are able to find a place, you’ll get little choice and little service. So you can show up and you will be seen…about 6 -8 hours later. And you’ll have to pay for it….just not what you think. AND if you have a private hospital, you won’t get to go there. You’ll go to the public hospitals….and you won’t even get the tests you want because the money from the pool has run out.
Well if you have…..welcome to Obamacare! You get what you pay for chilins.
I tried to explain to Blim and Scout that the hospitals were giving millions up in caring for the no insured. Well they won’t soon. And if you’re elderly and need a new knee or a hip…sorry..you go to the back of the line and you’ll get your knee or hip in 8 months to a full year. You won’t survive that long so the costs go down. Happy now Scout, Blim, Diana, Maria, oneand done, J, ….anyone?
And if you need cardiac procedures…well….
misjustice on November 29 at 8:07 a.m.
NO, Daisy, I’m not happy. And I won’t be until we join the rest of the developed world and implement single payer universal health care. So there!
; )