About the same size and demographics as Ferguson, MO of current ill repute. 60%+ black, <30% white.
Its not so much a racial issue as it is an economic issue. If there is a high level of government subsidy AND the hospital is not being managed well, they go under pretty quickly.
Medicare cuts, insurance changes, and other subsidies have changed so much in the past two years it is tough to keep up. AND, if your billing team is not sharp—and by that I mean they do not make any mistakes and chase after all of the dollars—they will die a fast death.
My wife’s hospital is the local “poor peoples” hospital and then have been a national leader in shifting to a quality based score card for all aspects of the medical process. They increased quality and reduced expenses and collected more claims in the past year than ever before. Their reimbursements have been paid faster due to better coding. Their re admittance rate has fallen to lower than any of the “for profit” hospitals in the area.
AND this is under Romney care.
If a hospital does not have its business act together they are going to have a hard time over the next couple of years.