News - Local
UPDATE: How will health care reform impact hospitals?
Posted: Mar 26, 2010 1:51 PM by David Ortiviz
Updated: Mar 26, 2010 1:51 PM
I just got back from the field. Here's what I found out. The new health care legislation could save hospitals tens of millions of dollars. In 2014, a mandate will kick in, requiring every American be insured. Right now the major hospitals in Southern Colorado treat patients, even if they don't have health insurance. The hospitals pick up the tab. They call it "charity care" or "uncompensated care."
Here's how much money each hospital spent last year in charity or uncompensated care:
Colorado Springs
Penrose St. Francis Health Services
$63 million
Memorial Health System
$70 million
Pueblo
Parkview Medical Center
$60 million
St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center
$40 million
"Those sorts of deficits for the hospital are hard to sustain, so we're looking forward to the time when everybody would have some level of insurance," said Rob Ryder, President and CEO of St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center in Pueblo.
I'm still writing the story. I'll have more to come.
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