California hospitals are losing $750 million a year, authorities say, to undocumented immigrants that take advantage of a federal government policy that requires treatment in emergency rooms, regardless of whether or not a patient can pay for the services.
Kings County Department of Public Health Director Perry Rickard said that the situation is "spinning wildly out of control."
"These unclaimed expenses drive up the cost of health care and someone has to pay for it," Rickard said. "If it isn't the insurance companies, then it is going to be the individual."
An act established in 2003 requires the U.S. government to provide money to hospitals that submit claims for treating undocumented immigrants.
California currently receives $72 million a year as part of this program, more than any other state, but California Hospital Association spokeswoman Jan Emerson says it simply isn't enough. In all, according to her, the state is losing $750 million per year.
"Our guestimate is that about 10 percent of all uninsured patients we see are illegal immigrants," Emerson said. "This is an ongoing problem, but it isn't the main reason hospitals are struggling financially, as we have nearly $8 billion in uncompensated care expenses every year that are not improving, either."
Locally, it is estimated that Hanford Community Medical Center loses $15.8 million a year on uncompensated care expenses, which is about 10 percent of their overall annual revenue, according to Adventist Health spokeswoman Christine Pickering.
"It affects our whole system, from what we can pay for salaries to the types of services we can provide and physicians we can recruit," Pickering said,
The exact number of local illegal immigrant-related uncompensated claims is unknown, as Adventist Health facilities in Kings County do not file for government reimbursement in these situations.
"We found that the system was difficult to use and that patients benefited more from our charity policy," Pickering said.
This charity program is based on an individual's household income level. Using this number, a maximum cap is placed on the amount of money that can potentially be charged for emergency room care or visits to Central Valley Family Health clinics, with the hospital itself paying the rest of the bill.
The hospital also has a policy of not asking what a person's immigration status is.
For the future of health care, though, things are looking bleak, said Rickard, the county public health director.
"If we can't have a unified health policy, then at least we need a policy that takes into account the factors that are hurting the individual," he said. "It'll only get more expensive from here."
The reporter can be reached at 582-0471, ext. 3051.
(Aug. 2, 2007)