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Bowling Green, Ky., hospitals strive to cover uninsured.

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News August 5, 2004 By Christopher Miller, The Daily News, Bowling Green, Ky. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Aug. 5–The ranks of those without health insurance who visit Bowling Green hospitals are steadily on the rise, according to hospital officials.

The Medical Center has experienced a gradual increase of self-paying patients since 2001, according to Mark Robinson, vice president of business services at Commonwealth Health Corp., the parent company of The Medical Center.

In 2001, 6.5 percent of all patients paid without the help of health insurance, Robinson said. The year after, 2002, saw an increase to 7 percent of patients, while in 2003, that rose to 7.4 percent.

Mike Mitchell, Greenview Regional Hospital chief financial officer, saw an even greater increase in 2003 from 2002. During that time, the number of uninsured patients rose 22 percent.

“Everybody is seeing a significant increase in unreimbursed care,” Mitchell said.

But the trend is different than the national scene, where the number of uninsured remained unchanged from 2001 to 2003, according to a report from the Center for Studying Health System Change. But there was a shift in that time period as many lost their employee-based insurance and were picked up by the safety net of public insurance.

The switch to public insurance from employers who were forced to drop health insurance arose because of a tight economy and the rising cost of insurance, the report said.

Hospital officials here see higher premiums resulting from ballooning health care costs — compounded by a shortage of nurses and the rising cost of equipment.

The inflating numbers are a cause for concern among hospital officials — especially because both The Medical Center and Greenview have policies guaranteeing emergency care to anyone. With uninsured patients, both hospitals pursue alternative routes of reimbursement, such as Medicaid and Kentucky’s Children’s Health Insurance Program, officials said.

“Hospitals as a whole don’t have wide operating margins,” Robinson said. “We (at The Medical Center) pour quite a few of the resources we have back into the community, through equipment, charity care and community care.” Community benefits paid by The Medical Center, including costs of health care for those unable to pay, increased to $28 million for the 2004 fiscal year ending in March, up from $25 million in the 2003 fiscal year. bowlinggreenkynow.net bowling green ky

Those figures also include such things as community health screenings and wellness programs and financial aid.

But even while those numbers are rising, the hospital plans to continue offering the same services, no matter what the cost, Robinson said.

The Medical Center first deals with the financial pressure by looking for ways to become more efficient, though the pressures sometimes get transferred and delay purchases of the latest technology.

In a long-term perspective — five years or more — Robinson foresees the growing burden could put a damper on The Medical Center’s level of service. in our site bowling green ky

And while the level of costs incurred by the uninsured rises, those payments need to be made up elsewhere.

“Like every business, the cost has to be taken care of by other consumers,” Mitchell said.

The Bowling Green hospitals are not the only ones feeling the pressure.

“One out of three hospitals in the U.S. is losing money,” Mitchell said.

The bottom line, according to Dorris Thomas, vice president of marketing at CHC, is that the number of uninsured is going up, those with insurance are paying larger co-pays, the cost of equipment is rising, the cost of health care is rising, there is a shortage of workers and the economy is putting pressure on employers.

But, she said, “We’re not going to turn anyone away.” If the economy improves, an increasing number of employers will be able to provide benefits to their employees, Mitchell said.

Like The Medical Center, Greenview is dedicated to taking care of patients’ needs.

Greenview’s mission statement says: “We’re committed to the care and improvement of human life,” Mitchell said. “At the end of the day, it’s a social issue where we have to decide what to do with those in society that don’t have health care coverage.” Nationally, the study released this week by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Studying Health System Change saw a decline in the amount of employer-sponsored insurance plans.

“The proportion of Americans under age 65 covered by employer-sponsored insurance fell dramatically from 67 percent to 63 percent between 2001 and 2003,” the report stated. “Although the decline in employer coverage could have spurred a large increase in the uninsured, the proportion of Americans without health insurance did not increase significantly.” After adjustment for the effect of population growth, the report estimated that 8.9 million fewer people were covered by employer-sponsored insurance than would have been if coverage rates remained unchanged.

In the same time period, public insurance such as Medicaid, the federal State Children’s Health Insurance Program, where KCHIP originated, and other state programs, increased by 6.5 percent for children 18 years old and under, the report said. Those 19 to 39 saw an increase of 2.9 percent in the number of publicly insured, and those ages 40 to 64 saw an increase of 0.4 percent.

The drop in employee-covered health insurance arose from various factors, according to the report.

The largest contributor came from the declining chance of people being in a working family, resulting in less access to employer coverage, the report said.

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Australasian Business Intelligence April 18, 2005 | Shoebridge, Neil Apr 17, 2005 (The Australian Financial Review – ABIX via COMTEX) In Australia, the competition is fierce for the avid DVD viewer’s dollars. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is hoping its recent takeover of MGM’s Australian DVD operation will give it sufficient distribution clout to counter discounts offered by rivals Magna Pacific and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Sony’s research suggests that consumers are prepared to pay about $A30 for a new release DVD and between $A15 and $A20 for a catalogue title. Michele Garra, Sony MD in Australia, says the company has not yet decided whether to match Magna and Fox prices.

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