Safety Net Hospitals Want In on Economic Stimulus

A news report in Modern Healthcare (registration required) says that “Seventeen chief executive officers from some of the largest safety net hospitals in the country appealed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to increase funding for the nation’s healthcare safety net in crafting an economic stimulus package.”

It is clear that some hospitals are facing major increases in uninsured patients. An article Friday in the Nashville Business Journal reports that Nashville’s hospitals faced a 140% increase in uncompensated care over the past five years, the largest part of which was shouldered by Vanderbilt’s medical center. On the other hand, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that NYU’s Langone Medical Center has just received two big pledges totaling $260 million for capital expansion and renovation. Wonder if the new patient facility funded by one of the gifts ($150 million from Helen L. Kimball) will have wide-screen TV’s like Ascension Health’s new facilities in suburban Detroit (see prior blog post here)?

JDC