As Louisiana’s private hospitals continue to treat the uninsured after Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans’ two hospitals for the indigent, reformers are calling for the state to permanently direct Medicaid funds to private providers so that all hospitals--not just the 10 state-run charity care hospitals--will be reimbursed for treating the poor, reports USA Today. Meanwhile, Ochsner Medical Center, East Jefferson General Hospital, and West Jefferson Medical Center face huge losses as the poor continue to seek care at available hospitals. The not-for-profit Ochsner reported a $70 million operating loss, with 85% of the losses occurring after the hurricane. Although the federal government has allocated $383 million in emergency funds for private hospitals that cared for hurricane victims plus another $500 million in special Medicaid funds, the private hospitals say it is not nearly enough to offset their costs and that it is not intended to cover the uncompensated care they are currently providing. “The charity care and bad debt issues will (continue to) plague and be a huge squeeze and drain on the market until the state or federal government decides to step in with something more significant than $383 million,” Gary Fuqua, director of public finance at Fitch Ratings’ Health Care Group, told USA Today. Those who favor dismantling the state’s charity care hospital system argue that private hospitals will be more efficient at delivering care to the poor.
