- No big increase in health charity with job losses, By Guy Boulton, August 8, 2010, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Tens of thousands of people in the Milwaukee area have lost their jobs since the start of the recession, yet the increase has not resulted in a surge in charity care by health care systems in the region. The amount of free and discounted care provided by the health systems has been stable when calculated as a percentage of patient revenue, even as the economy struggles through the worst downturn since the Great Depression. The amount of bad debt also has not risen noticeably. That surprises some health care executives, who expected a sharp increase in charity care and bad debt expense at the recession’s start…”
- Uninsured patients overwhelm Denver Health clinics, By Jennifer Brown, August 9, 2010, Denver Post: “A rising number of needy patients without health insurance is overwhelming community clinics in Denver, leaving some sick people to wait up to four months to see a family doctor. When new patients call one of Denver Health Medical Center’s eight clinics across the city, they are transferred to a downtown call center where they are put on a waiting list – a list that now contains 3,500 names. Patients can end up on the list ‘even if they are dying of something – that’s the horror,’ said Dr. Lara Penny, a family doctor at Denver Health’s Montbello clinic. The facility is so busy, the hospital system is setting up modular units to accommodate patients until a new building opens in January 2012 with the help of federal stimulus money. The county’s safety-net hospital, Denver Health treats anyone with an emergency, regardless of whether they can pay. That means a person injured in a car wreck or who has a heart attack will get care. But if that person also is diagnosed with diabetes or heart disease, getting a follow-up appointment with a primary-care doctor can take months…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty