Estimating Uncompensated Care Charges at Rural Hospital Emergency Departments

Autor/inn/en	Bennett, Kevin J.; Moore, Charity G.; Probst, Janice C.
Titel	Estimating Uncompensated Care Charges at Rural Hospital Emergency Departments
Quelle	In: Journal of Rural Health, 23 (2007) 3, S.258-263 (6 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0890-765X
DOI	10.1111/j.1748-0361.2007.00099.x
Schlagwörter	Patients; Medical Services; Federal Legislation; Hospitals; Rural Areas; Access to Health Care; Financial Problems; Surveys; Health Care Costs; Health Needs; Economically Disadvantaged; South Carolina + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Patient; Arzt; Bundesrecht; Krankengymnast; Krankenhaus; Rural area; Ländlicher Raum; Survey; Umfrage; Befragung
Abstract	Context: Rural hospitals face multiple financial burdens. Due to federal law, emergency departments (ED) provide a gateway for uninsured and self-pay patients to gain access to treatment. It is unknown how much uncompensated care in rural hospitals is due to ED visits. Purpose: To develop a national estimate of uncompensated care from patients utilizing the ED in rural hospitals. Methods: Clinical data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey-ED (NHAMCS-ED) from 1999 and 2000 were linked to billing data from South Carolina. National estimates of utilization and charges were calculated, with rurality and self-pay status being the variables of focus. Findings: Applying South Carolina billing data to national clinical data yields a national estimate for 1999-2000 of nearly $441 billion in charges being generated through emergency departments, with self-pay patients representing 9.0% of total charges. Rural self-pay patients accounted for an estimated $3.5 billion in charges in 1999 and $5.3 billion in 2000. These charges may represent a total financial burden of more than $4 billion to rural hospitals. Conclusions: Efforts should be made to reduce the uncompensated care burden on rural hospitals to ensure their viability. These efforts may include Medicaid/SCHIP expansions, FQHCs or RHCs, Critical Access Hospital Designation, or other indigent care programs that would reduce the need for self-pay patients to utilize EDs. (Author).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10