A review of nonprofit hospitals in New York found they care more about making money than about patient care.
According to a patientenrightsadvocate.org survey of more than 2,000 hospitals nationwide, only 6 out of 101 New York hospitals audited complied with federal regulations requiring all hospitals to post rates online and make them easily accessible.
Donna Christensen, board member of Consumer for Quality Care, noted that some people delay treatment because of such factors. She described what needs to be done to ensure nonprofit hospitals improve.
“Hospitals must comply with the legal requirements that the IRS has imposed on them for their tax benefits in order to provide that care,” Christensen claimed. “And to make sure they can show what they’ve spent some of their savings on providing charity care.”
A bill was introduced in the US House of Representatives in 2022 to hold nonprofit hospitals accountable. Additional information from the Lown Institute’s Hospital Index found that New York City hospitals run a “fair share deficit” of more than $1.6 billion by taking tax breaks far exceeding what they spend on welfare and charitable care for patients low-income spenders.
Christensen noted that nonprofit hospitals have an obligation to work with low-income patients to ensure they can afford the care. But data from Rand Corporation shows that patients with private insurance are billed, on average, 301% more than Medicare patients.
She argued that nonprofit hospitals know what to do, but what matters is actually doing it.
“Some of them would spend some of that money to create new businesses or services that provide more income, or raise the salaries of their executives and fail to meet their obligations to the lower-income and needy people in their community,” Christensen explained.
She pointed out that predatory medical debt collection tactics by nonprofit hospitals also need to be regulated. According to the Community Service Society’s Discharged in Debt report, 112 nonprofit hospitals sued more than 53,000 patients statewide between 2015 and 2020.
In 2022, two bills were signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul to ban medical liens and wage liens and regulate facility fee billing.
Receive more stories like this by email
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and a rise in cancer rates among people under 55 underscores the importance of screening.
A recent study found that diagnoses among people under the age of 55 have increased from 11% in 1995 to 20% in 2019. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
dr John Dunn is the Medical Director of Knowledge and Implementation at Kaiser Permanente, Washington.
“The most important thing is that about two-thirds of those deaths can be avoided because we do screening,” Dunn said, “if everyone is screened regularly.”
In 2023, about 150,000 people in the US will be diagnosed with colon cancer and about 50,000 will die.
Due to increasing prevalence in younger people, the US Preventive Services Task Force lowered the recommended screening age from 50 to 45 in 2021.
While colonoscopies are an important screening test, Dunn says there’s an easier way, called a FIT kit, that can be used at home. He said the process involved with a colonoscopy can make it nearly impossible for many people.
“Getting someone to babysit your kids, taking that time off work, finding someone to take you is — in some cases — very difficult,” Dunn said. “And for those people, being able to do a home test is a real benefit.”
Colonoscopies are typically performed every ten years, while the FIT kit tests are performed every year. Doctors use FIT kits to look for microscopic blood in stool samples.
Dunn said if the test is positive, people need to come in for a colonoscopy.
Regardless of which method people choose, he said the best screening test is the one that gets done.
Disclosure: Kaiser Health Plan of Washington Project contributes to our fund for reporting on Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention, Health Issues, Hunger/Nutrition/Nutrition, Elderly Issues. If you would like to support public interest messages, click here.
Receive more stories like this by email
Colorado’s statewide qualified community health centers play an important role in the state’s economy, according to a new analysis.
Health centers that serve all patients, regardless of their ability to pay, contribute at least $1.7 billion to economic activity nationwide.
Simon Smith, President and CEO of Clinica Family Health, said the lion’s share of their budget goes towards paying competitive salaries with full benefits to employees.
“We’re often a larger employer in a small community, which keeps the dollars local,” Smith said. “We know our employees live in the communities we serve. They are neighbors, they are family members, they are friends of the patients we serve. They shop at the local grocery store.”
Health centers bring significant amounts of federal money back into the local economy, primarily through Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements. In 2021, health centers also contributed $206 million in state and federal tax revenue. Not only do they provide pathways to medical careers for thousands of people, they are often the sole provider of healthcare services in many rural parts of the state.
Community health centers provide primary health care to one in seven Colorado residents. Using an integrated medical home model, they provide medical, dental, vision, behavioral health care and substance use disorder services.
Smith noted that once patients arrive at the clinic, everyone is on deck, they don’t have to wait or make follow-up appointments.
“Then our patients are available. We know how busy people’s lives are, there’s never a guarantee you’ll have childcare or transportation or time off work to get to the appointment,” Smith explained. “Once you get to the appointment, we want to give you all that care.”
Safety-Net Health Centers serve a wide range of patients, from professionals with employer insurance to uninsured patients, including farm workers and people affected by homelessness. Smith added that the non-profit model, with federal requirements that actual patients make up more than half of a center’s volunteer board, has long enjoyed bipartisan support.
“Ultimately, community health centers provide excellent care, and we do it in a very cost-effective way,” Smith said. “And often we provide care and services in places where there is no other access to healthcare for patients.”
Receive more stories like this by email
Hospital staff are struggling with the burden of patient overload and want the Oregon legislature to do something about it.
A measure in Salem would create a nurse-to-patient ratio, so she and other medical staff would have a fixed number of patients to attend to.
Aaron Green is a Board-Certified Nursing Assistant at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center. He said he was tending to more than 35 patients at a time, creating potential safety issues.
“It’s important to me that everyone gets the best care,” Green said. “And the way to do that is to establish staffing ratios so our loved ones, your loved ones, you, whoever is coming in here, know they’re getting the best possible care.”
Oregon hospitals have spoken out against the legislation. The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems called it a one-size-fits-all solution to a more complex problem.
The measure, House Bill 2697, is scheduled for a public hearing on Tuesday.
Green said understaffing is taking a toll on workers in all parts of the hospital – noting that getting patients into beds can be difficult if there aren’t enough housekeepers.
“We really need to represent all of the hospital staff,” Green said, “because we’re all part of delivering the best patient care and outcomes.”
Green added that staffing issues were an issue before the pandemic, but have since worsened.
He said long, stressful hours burned out many workers and forced some of them out of the job.
Disclosure: SEIU Local 49 contributes to our Fund for Viable Wages / Working Families, Social Justice Reporting. If you would like to support public interest messages, click here.
Receive more stories like this by email
