Texas City hospital frets over rising charity case costs

Mainland Medical Center? ? Mainland Medical Center Latest from The Business Journals Two HCA hospitals to mergeClear Lake medical center merges with Mainland MedicalWho?s Hiring briefs Follow this company officials are concerned about rising costs associated with increased care of indigent patients and self-pay patients now that the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston? ? University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston Latest from The Business Journals UTMB?s 2008 layoffs questionable, court documents showApollo Endosurgery lands .1M more in fundingUTMB Galveston to open renovated maternity center Follow this company has reduced care for those patients.

The Houston Chronicle reports that Rob Hiefner, CEO of Texas City-based Mainland Medical, said that unlike UTMB, his medical facility does not receive public funding for charity care. The Texas Legislature sent $7 million to UTMB for care of indigent patients in fiscal 2011.

The Chronicle cited discharge figures from the Texas Hospital Association? ? Texas Hospital Association Latest from The Business Journals Follow this company that show that indigent and self-pay discharged patients dropped from more than 10,000 in 2008 ? the year that Hurricane Ike pounded Galveston Island, forcing UTMB to basically rebuild from scratch ? to 1,672 in 2011.

Hiefner was also concerned about the fact that UTMB has expanded beyond Galveston onto the mainland with new clinics that compete for business with Mainland Medical, which is privately funded.

The report noted that officials with two other hospital facilities in Harris County said they have also noted an increase in costs associated with indigent care or self-pay patients since Ike.

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Houston Chronicle

Related:

Health Care, Galveston County

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