Hospitals and Charity Care – Maine

Charity-care demands grow for hospitals, By Jessica Hall, May 6, 2012, Kennebec Journal: “Maine hospitals have doubled the amount of free care they provide over the past five years as the weak economy pushed more people out of work, and companies shifted an increasing amount of health care costs onto employees. ‘The economy is having a significant impact. As the economy continues to stay stagnant, companies are changing insurance. People are adjusting what insurance they carry and others have lost insurance,’ said Sue Hadiaris, vice president of planning and development at Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford. More scrutiny has been placed on free care as health care has become big business and top hospital executives in Maine fetch six-figure salaries. Hospitals vary in the types and amounts of free services they provide, as well as how they disseminate charity care information to their patients, advocates said…”