Following are reactions to the study released yesterday showing a decline in the proportion of physicians providing charity care:
"This study provides additional evidence of the serious breakdown of the system of cost shifting that for years supported charity care. With government and private payers increasingly unwilling to pay the “hidden tax” for charity care, the ability and willingness of physicians and hospitals to provide this care is more limited. This study further demonstrates the critical need for this country to address the problem of covering the uninsured. Only a focused effort, similar to the Bush Administration’s approach to universal adoption of the electronic health record, will solve this problem."
--Richard L. Clarke, DHA, FHFMA, President and CEO, HFMA
"There are probably a variety of reasons why this trend is emerging, but one of the principal ones is likely the rapidly deteriorating economics of medical practice---rising operating costs, shrinking insurance payments and increased workloads all make it more difficult for physicians to provide charity care and still keep their practices afloat. Another possible factor is that more of the uninsured simply go to hospital emergency rooms, rather than physician offices. A third is that the growth of organizations like Community Health Centers means more charity care is being provided in fewer places, rather than the load being spread more uniformly across all physicians. The truth is that it's a bothersome change---but we don't really understand all the reasons why it's occurring."
--William F. Jessee, MD, FACMPE, president and CEO, Medical Group Management Association
“Physicians are committed to providing charity care and nearly 70 percent of physicians provide uncompensated care worth more than $2,000 every week, despite increasing time and financial pressures. Charity care is not the solution for the 46 million Americans who are uninsured. The AMA’s proposal provides health insurance solutions that put patients in the driver’s seat, along with their physicians."
--Edward Hill, M.D., President, American Medical Association
"Already, there are signs that uninsured Americans are having more problems getting care, and if the decline in physician charity care continues, those problems are probably going to get worse."
--Peter J. Cunningham, Ph.D., HSC Senior Researcher and coauthor of the study with HSC Health Research Analyst Jessica H. May.
