Atlanta, Ga. – Many metro Atlanta hospitals aren’t doing enough to improve health care accessibility for the low-income and uninsured, according to a report released this week by Georgia Watch. In addition, only half of the 34 hospitals in the 21-county Atlanta area fail to post legally-required signage about available financial aid programs. Read More
Health Care
By Jonathan Shapiro
This past March, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled unanimously that limits on jury awards in medical malpractice cases are unconstitutional.
“The very existence of the caps, in any amount, is violative of the right to trial by jury,” wrote Chief Justice Carol Hunstein. “[The cap] clearly nullifies the jury’s findings of fact regarding damages and thereby undermines the jury’s basic function.”
The ruling effectively strikes down the centerpiece of Georgia’s sweeping 2005 tort reform law, Senate Bill 3, which capped noneconomic awards – including those for pain and suffering – at $350,000. Read more
(Atlanta, Ga. and Boston, Ma.) Many non-profit hospitals are not doing enough to let needy patients know about whether they qualify for hospital charity care programs and how to apply for assistance, according to a report released today by The Access Project and Community Catalyst in collaboration with Georgia Watch. Read more
[This originally appeared in Healthy Debate Georgia, the blog of consumer advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future.]
by Holly Lang
In a March ruling that could hold implications for all nonprofit hospitals, the Illinois Supreme Court stripped not-for-profit Provena Covenant Medical Center of its exemption from property tax, stating that the hospital did not provide enough charity care to justify that exemption.
A hospital earns its tax-exempt status through the benefits it provides to the community, the most of which being the free or reduced-cost care for those eligible for such assistance. Such care is deemed indigent or charity care. Read more
Georgia Watch will expand its Hospital Accountability Project to help broaden accessibility to affordable, quality health care for uninsured, underinsured and low-income Georgians by addressing socioeconomic obstacles, hospital policies, community benefits and regulations throughout the state. Read more
March 10, 2010 – Georgia Watch released a detailed financial analysis of Northeast Georgia Medical Center, a regional safety net hospital that serve low-income, uninsured, underinsured and other vulnerable populations in Gainesville and its surrounding region. This section of the state, serviced primarily by Northeast Georgia Medical Center, has an uninsured rate that is higher than the state average; many area health consumers face significant barriers in affording care. Read more
The following is a short film on Betty Nestlehutt. After receiving plastic surgery, Mrs. Nestlehutt, 72, was left with severe injuries to her face. Her ordeal and the botched procedure has caused Georgia’s arbitrary $350k cap on damages to come under fire at the GA Supreme Court. Warning: This film includes graphic images and may upset some viewers.
Rana Cash
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The intravenous dye cost the hospital $14. The patient’s bill for it? Try $600.
“That’s more than a 4,000 percent markup. I think about that bill a lot,” said Holly Lang of Georgia Watch, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group…read more.
Heather Duncan
The Macon Telegraph
The Medical Center of Central Georgia is cutting hours, clinics and pharmacy offerings at its W.T. Anderson Health Center, which provides primary and specialty care to the poor…more.
PASOS PARA SALVAR SU HOGAR Y PREVENIR EL EMBARGO HIPOTECARIO Read the rest of this entry »
Georgia Watch released a report detailing the plight of the uninsured and underinsured when seeking affordable health care in the state. Titled The Cost of Care in Georgia, the report examines overcharging of uninsured patients at nonprofit hospitals, along with the economic repercussions of medical debt and how it directly causes foreclosure and financial ruin. In terms of potential solutions to the issue of affordability, the report evaluates programs across the state that treat the uninsured for less… Read the rest of this entry »
By John Bailey for the Rome News-Tribune, July 24, 2009
The financial practices of Georgia not-for-profit hospitals, including Floyd Medical Center, are creating a barrier to affordable health care, a consumer advocacy group concludes. The Hospital Accountability Project by Georgia Watch focuses primarily on the affordability of health care for self-pay, underinsured and uninsured patients… Read the rest of this entry »
A film placed —for the moment — out of harm’s way
5:01 pm July 12, 2009, by Jim Galloway
Georgia is on the verge of its very own Michael Moore moment. The question is whether that moment will be allowed to happen… Read the rest of this entry »
**Georgia Watch had no hand in the making of Do No Harm – we were sponsoring a screening of the film that has since been canceled by it’s producers due to unforeseen issues.
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
July 12, 2009, by Jim Galloway
Georgia is on the verge of its very own Michael Moore moment. The question is whether that moment will be allowed to happen.
In September 2003, fax machines owned by Albany’s business and political elite began spitting out a series of anonymous newsletters that detailed the inner workings of the nonprofit Phoebe Putney Health System — southwest Georgia’s largest hospital group…more
Almost 1.7 million Georgians have no health insurance. Most of the uninsured are part of working families, and two-thirds have incomes less than half of the federal poverty line. Many were among the 1.3 million working Americans who had lost health insurance the previous year. Others were surprised to find their health insurance depleted or their insurers refusing to approve needed procedures or medicines...more
WASHINGTON — As Washington considers overhauling the nation’s health care system, a new poll finds considerable concern about health costs, with nearly half of all Americans worried about paying for future care. Read the rest of this entry »
INDIANAPOLIS — Employers who offer health insurance coverage could see a 9 percent cost increase next year, and their workers may face an even bigger hit, according to a report from consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Read the rest of this entry »
As a physician, I see every day the type of overuse of medical care described in “Something’s Got to Give in Medicare Spending” (Economic View, June 14). Read the rest of this entry »
To the Odom family of Durham, N.C., Dr. Gloria M. Trujillo is a savior. Johnny Odom, at 57, has congestive heart failure, diabetes, kidney failure, high blood pressure, gout, high cholesterol and blindness in one eye. His daughter, Tonia, 35, has rheumatoid arthritis, and her 10-year-old son has asthma, a seizure disorder, high blood pressure, prediabetes and sleep apnea…more
Emory University said Monday that it is suspending its $1.5 billion medical expansion project, citing general uncertainty about the economy. Read the rest of this entry »
Health care reform is a big, nasty, complicated, sensitive subject. And everybody wants something different out of it. Read the rest of this entry »
Please check back for information on the rescheduling of Do No Harm, a documentary by Rebecca Schanberg that chronicles the actions of two whistle blowers at Phoebe Putney Hospital in Albany, Georgia who uncover inconsistent financial practices.
For more info on the film visit www.donoharmdoc.com or check out Georgia Watch’s 2008 report, A Crisis of Affordable Care: Phoebe Putney, which details our own findings on discrepancies at Phoebe Putney regarding over-charging and exorbitant executive compensation.
Health care is one market where consumers are perpetually at a disadvantage and are consistently denied the fundamental options and choices that are available in other consumer-driven industries.
While there are many different causes for this lack of consumer control, one major factor is the absence of straightforward and clear information. For health care consumers, details on the most basic information – such as pricing and financial assistance eligibility – are scarce.
The majority of hospitals in the state are tax-exempt organizations, and are obligated to their communities to provide some level of financial assistance, either through their participation in Medicaid and/or their offering of financial assistance to needy patients. The latter is generally referred to as “community benefits” and include charity and indigent care.
In return, these facilities are typically subsidized by state and local governments. For example, tax-exempt nonprofit hospitals do not pay most taxes, including sales, income and property. Because of this, tax-exempt nonprofit hospitals do not contribute to vital local infrastructure, such as road and sewer maintenance, or firefighter and police forces, even though they utilize these services.
But, some hospitals participate in practices that are questionable in regards to proper stewardship of our foregone tax dollars, such as maintaining large reserves of cash and paying its executives wages that are similar to that of Fortune 500 companies while charging self-pay/uninsured patients significantly inflated charges that often puts care out of reach.
For example, many tax-exempt nonprofit hospitals in Georgia charge uninsured patients a significantly higher cost for services than average payments received from most third party payers, such as private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid. While most hospitals offer financial assistance, some do not alert patients to the availability of this assistance. In addition, many hospitals employ aggressive collection tactics when a patient bill.
All hospitals are unique – some are leaders in community betterment while others are underperformers in regards to financial programs for indigent and nearly poor patients. As a consumer advocacy group, we feel it is our role to examine the financial practices of hospitals, especially facilities who act as a ‘safety net’ in their communities, in order to provide clear and transparent information for our state’s healthcare consumers.
Because of this, in 2007, Georgia Watch began authoring an ongoing series of reports that examine the finances and community offerings of hospitals in the state. The research and analysis is based on figures reported by the hospital to the IRS, the US Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, and other publicly available sources.
Hospitals are already examined are:
- Memorial University Medical Center (Savannah)
- Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital (Albany)
- Northside Hospital (Atlanta)
- Medical Center of Central Georgia(Macon)
- Floyd Medical Center (Rome)
- Northeast Georgia Medical Center (Gainesville)
What is the Indigent Care Trust Fund?
The Indigent Care Trust Fund (ICTF) is a state-sponsored program that subsidizes care for low-income individuals at participating hospitals. This subsidized care is available on both an inpatient and outpatient basis, regardless of whether there is an emergency. It can either cover an entire bill or just a portion, depending on income. The hospital must treat these patients the same as any other patient. The hospitals receive a certain amount of money each year to provide this care.
What are hospitals required to do if they receive this money? Hospitals participating in the ICTF must:
- Treat low-income patient for free or on a sliding scale;
- Notify patients being admitted to the hospital as well as the public that it receives ICTF funds;
- Let patients know how to apply for help from the ICTF;
- Have a written financial policy available to the public upon request;
- Not require eligible patients to pay a deposit upon admittance to the hospital;
- Help patients apply for ICTF funds before or after treatment; and,
- Help patients from any county in Georgia, regardless of whether that is the county where they live.
What does the ICTF exclude? For most hospitals, the ICTF does not cover doctor bills or Medicare deductibles.
How do I apply? You can call the hospital’s business office and ask for the person who handles patient accounts or billings, or the hospital’s social worker, if they have one. Once you have contacted the hospital and completed an application, the hospital has five business days to make a decision as to whether you are eligible for free or sliding scale care. You can also complete this application at the hospital.
What do I do if the hospital rejects my application?
Ask the hospital to reconsider your application. If they deny you again, you have the right to appeal to the state for eligibility.
How can I appeal? Send a written complaint to the Department of Community Health (DCH) explaining why you feel the hospital was wrong in denying your application, and request that DCH asks the hospital to change its decision. You will also need to send a complaint to the hospital.
Send the appeal to:
Indigent care Trust Fund, Hospital Reimbursement Services
Department of Community Health
PO Box 38490
Two Peachtree Street, NW
Atlanta, GA 30303-3159
Phone: (404) 463-5827 or (877) 261-3117
For more information contact Hospital Accountability Project Manager Holly Lang at (404) 525-1085 or via email at hlang@georgiawatch.org
You may be eligible to participate in Georgia Watch’s new Hospital Accountability Project (HAP). Contact Georgia Watch to fill out a 26 question survey regarding your personal health care and your impressions of the health system in your area. Survey results will be analyzed and used in upcoming Georgia Watch reports. To learn more about HAP, click here. Or contact Holly Lang at (404) 525-1085 or mailto:hlang@georgiawatch.org.
The Hospital Accountability Project aims to broaden accessibility to affordable, quality health care for uninsured, underinsured and low-income Georgians by addressing socioeconomic obstacles, hospital policies, community benefits and regulations throughout the state. Through research and analysis, the publication of relevant reports, the engagement of the state’s hospitals and education and empowerment of the state’s consumers, Georgia Watch aims to increase access to appropriate, quality health care by enacting state-level regulations, advocating hospital policy changes and promoting consumer empowerment. The organization will also actively engage key state-level stakeholders, hospital representatives, community leaders and lawmakers in dialogue on these topics.
The statewide Hospital Accountability Project is funded in part by a grant from Healthcare Georgia Foundation. Created in 1999 as an independent, private foundation, the Foundation’s mission is to advance the health of all Georgians and to expand access to affordable, quality healthcare for underserved individuals and communities.
Highlighting and combating the challenges of low-income, uninsured and underinsured Georgians has long been a top priority of Georgia Watch. Since 2007, Georgia Watch has evaluated issues of access and affordability throughout the state, and has conducted detailed analyses of fiscal practices and community benefit offerings of six of the state’s key safety net facilities. In 2009, the organization received a two-year grant to focus specifically on the metropolitan Atlanta area, examining the particular barriers to affordable care uninsured, underinsured and low-income consumers face. Through research, partnerships with community organizations, and hospital and consumer engagement, Georgia Watch has analyzed these barriers, and will release their findings in a report in spring 2010.
National not-for-profit advocacy organization Community Catalyst funds the Metropolitan Atlanta-specific Hospital Accountability Project, and financially supports similar projects in 14 other states. Funding for these projects comes as a result of cy pres monies awarded from a suit filed in 2002 against Tenet Healthcare on behalf of uninsured and underinsured patients who were charged excessive prices at approximately 114 Tenet-owned facilities nationwide.