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Hennepin County Medical Center makes New York Times front page

By David Brauer | 03/29/09

If you're web-only reader impatiently waiting for the Strib's print-only feature on hospital debt collections to go online, check out this New York Times front-pager on our own Hennepin County Medical Center.

Part of the national paper's "Remade in America" immigration series, the 2,600-word story details the heartbreaking link between Somali torture and chronic maladies, and the sheer cost of treating legal and illegal immigrants. The hospital spends $3 million on translators; foreign-born patients account for $100 million of the $500 million in yearly costs; and immigrants are a "major contributor" to $45 million in unreimbursed expenses.

As Strib reporter Chen May Yee notes in her piece, insured and uninsured patients left $601 million in unpaid bills at local hospitals last year, forcing hospitals deeper into the collections business.

Neither paper makes the connection to Gov. Pawlenty's newest proposal to slash hospital reimbursements, though the Minnesota Hospital Association calculates (PDF) forecasts another $409.5 million in unreimbursed costs, plus another $172 million in reduced General Assistance Medical Care, some of which reduces reimbursements for hospital-related GAMC care.

Since the governor released his updated plan March 17, there hasn't been a good media examination of its effects. (If I've missed it, send me the link.) I'm sure the outpatient-first plan has some sensible parts. Still, it's hard to read the Times piece without ruminating how legitimate expenses best picked up by states and nations will instead be borne by cities, counties, and innocent victims — as well as hospitals who are fairly and unfairly castigated for doing the bill collecting no one else will.

Comments (3)

Submitted by Bridgette Bornstein on March 29, 2009 - 3:36pm.

I went to HCMC a few years ago for bronchitis. On the forms, they entered my cell phone number and address, but they must have missed a number on my address. Since they couldn't mail the bill without it being returned, they sent it to collections. Isn't it ridiculous that they didn't just try my cell phone number instead of wasting the money and time sending it to collections? This tells me that part of the problem with HCMC's debt is inefficient billing.

Submitted by dan buechler on March 29, 2009 - 4:21pm.

Traditionally collections was not a part of county hospitals internal work. So it was outsourced. Also traditionally health care for low income was the responsibility of counties backed up by the federal government in the case of immigration especially for those of refugee status. Tough choices.

Submitted by Bernice Vetsch on March 31, 2009 - 10:24am.

Why aren't hospitals clamoring for a national, tax-supported health plan? It would mean that no one coming through the door was uninsured because the government would be the single payer (like Medicare for all)???? What a freightload of worry taken off the backs of both hospitals and uninsured or underinsured patients.

And if passage is impossible at the national level JUST BECAUSE politicians and insurance companies say it is(not because the population doesn't want it), we could pass the Minnesota Health Plan SF 118/HF 135) and prove them wrong.