HFMA vice president Richard Gundling was cited in The New York Times (Abelson, “Hospitals See Drop in Paying Patients,” Nov. 6, 2008) in an article on a downturn in the volume of paying patients at a number of hospitals around the country. According to the article, these hospitals are reporting these declines even as they see a rise in emergency room traffic, charity care cases, and unpaid medical bills. The article also reports that insured patients seem to be deferring treatments such as knee replacements and weight-loss surgery, which are often more profitable for hospitals.
The article notes that patients with private insurance offset the lower fees paid for patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Gundling comments on the need for hospitals to balance their mix of patients to survive.
While not all hospitals are seeing declines, the article says that many are taking steps to contain costs in advance of expected slowdowns. Compounding the anxiety is continuing difficulty in the credit markets, which non-profit hospitals rely upon for municipal bond offerings.
Read the report here.
