NJ Hospitals Spent Less to Treat Uninsured Last Year, but Reported Amounts Vary
NorthJersey.com, Sept. 12, 2012
New Jersey hospitals reported spending $33.5 million less to treat the uninsured last year — a first in at least five years — but the amount North Jersey facilities reported varied widely, a report released Wednesday by the state reveals.
The data trigger more questions than answers: were fewer patients treated or are the declines in documented care attributed to changes in Medicaid funding or other factors? No clear patterns have emerged, experts say.
“A lot of people were expecting either a continued increase or at least a leveling off,” said Health Commissioner Mary O’Dowd. “The data will cause a lot of confusion and concern. That’s why we’re looking at a five-year trend.”
Meanwhile, the Census reported Wednesday a slight drop in the number of uninsured in the state from about 1.36 million to about 1.34 million in the last year, which could have an impact on the numbers, experts said.
The state tracked five years of documented charity care hospitals provided, which revealed a decrease of 3.2 percent from $1.02 billion in 2010 to $994 million last year. Overall, the amount grew from $912 million in 2007 to $994 million last year. The data does not reflect the number of patient visits, but rather the cost of care provided at Medicaid rates.
Even safety net hospitals including BergenRegionalMedicalCenter in Paramus and St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic, which typically treat a large percentage of indigent patients, documented fewer expenses in charity care.
The report should spark conversations, especially among hospital executives and regional health planners, as to why some institutions are reporting so much more or less documented charity care year to year than others in the same region, O’Dowd said. It’s also likely to trigger conversations about the merits of national health care reform — are hospitals readmitting fewer patients as they must or risk cuts in federal reimbursements? Are patients being treated in more appropriate settings such as federally qualified health centers rather than emergency rooms?
Bergen Regional reported a decrease in documented charity care from $43.4 million to $39 million last year, a reduction the hospital attributes to a change in Medicaid reimbursements, even though volume increased.
“The effect of this on Bergen Regional Medical Center is significant because the medical center is the largest provider of behavioral health services in New Jersey and the rates for these services were reduced,’’ she said. “BergenRegionalMedicalCenter did not cut services,” said hospital spokeswoman Donnalee Corrieri. In fact, volume has increased — 50 percent from 2008 to 2011 in outpatient days and 10 percent for inpatient care, she said.
Hospitals that typically treat far fewer uninsured patients, such as HolyNameMedicalCenter in Teaneck, actually documented more charity care, in some cases, dramatically, according to state data.
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