Posted on 03/13/2006 4:31:25 PM PST by Sic Luceat Lux
After struggling with empty beds and mounting financial problems, the Bellaire Medical Center has closed and filed Monday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The shutdown of the 43 year-old hospital came a week after the resignation of the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief of staff and chief nursing officer, according to a former employee.
More than 300 full-time employees and 350 staff physicians will be affected by the closing of the hospital, which is licensed to operate 349 beds. Patients are being transferred to other facilties.
According to the former chief of staff, Dr Ira Kasper, the hospital had been suffering finacially for years. "My impression is that the corporation that bought it, bought it on a shoestring without the financial support they needed to build a successful hospital," he said.
The hospital was left having to absorb high costs related to treating a large number of un-insured patients, he said.
snip
(Excerpt) Read more at mindi@mjhnews.com ...
Hospitals really should look at the real problem. The high charges for everything from a needle to an aspirin. If they would have realistic prices we could afford, we would go to hospitals. For example, we are fully insured, but our surgeon said insurance doesn't often pay for toncils out. His fee only $125. Hospital fee for FIVE MINUTES in the out patient O.R.? $5000. So we have to pay the full amount or live with diseased ulcerated toncils. The real problem is that hospitals charge too much for everything. If they had to compete for customers, they might charge more reasonable fees for things. Like aspirin might be a dollar instead of SIX.
I think insurance is like government student loans. If everyone had to pay cash, the costs would be a lot lower.
Meanwhile it is a straight shot 10 minutes down the freeway to the Houston Medical Center for paying customers.
So9
The high charges are there to to try and cover the cost of all the uninsured vagrants bumming off the emergency room.
Yes, I've driven through there many times on the way to Baylor Med. School library. Hate to say it, but looks just like Mexico City all through there.
I need to see the rest of the article, but the link doesn't work; "the page cannot be displayed." Have any idea why?
I just checked the link and it doesn't work but then again, I typed in exactly what is in this small monthly medical news journal. The link I used is the only one shown and it's on page #18 in the Houston Medical Journal sidebar listing showing the Publisher as being a Mindi Szumanski and the Editorial Assitant as being Courtney Stewart. The url shown is: mindi@mjhnews.com
The real problem is people who have no money who come in for services and perhaps long term treatment.
That is too expensive to give.
I just noticed this also. I picked up this Houston Medical Journal up at the Baylor Medical School library and it might be that I myself am not very astute yet at posting or this small, monthly medical journal doesn't have a link to their paper?
Do you have any ideas as to how I can find the link in this small newspaper. I do see that Houston Medical Journal obtained permission from the Houston Chronicle to reprint this. This might be why I can't find a link. (and I don't have a copy of the Houston Chronicle for a date in January when it ran? Clueless here/ perhaps I need to go to an emergency room for my disability / pun)
You are right. The fact that illegal aliens cost the health care system billions upon billions of dollars that have to be passed on to paying Americans is a huge part of the problem as well.
JEDI.
Exactly. And I'm sure most all of us have heard that there are thirteen hospitals in Southern California that are on the brink of having to close their doors.
You may be able to find what you are looking for here:
http://www.mjhnews.com/archives.htm
I'm sure our hospitals, all across the country, are trying to offset the losses that they are continuing to incur from the un-insureds. (it's either they raise their prices to all their other patients, us --- or as is the case with the two hospitals mentioned here in this thread --- they simply have to close)
This cannot be true! I hear over and over (even here on FR) that they are just coming here to work and are a net benefit to America!! /sarc
susie
"hospital fee for FIVE MINUTES..."
That is because you are subsidizing "non insured patients" in hopitals(interpret that in any way)
Ask him if he uses any OP surgical centers. We do tonsillectomies all the time for much less than a hopital will charge.
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