How much longer is Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center going to pretend like it is the victim in this situation with Humana? Humana is asking them to reduce their costs because they are clearly overcharging their patients and medical insurers. If McDowell does not cut its costs, then the alternative is for our insurance premiums to increase. Why would anybody want their premiums to increase?
McDowell’s administrators are spinning their lucrative “non-profit” status, but their amount of uncompensated care is not Humana’s responsibility, nor mine or yours, at least it shouldn’t be.
What is uncompensated care anyway? The American Hospital Administration defines it as the combination of bad debt and charity care. So, when an illegal immigrant comes into the emergency room for care, but does not pay, then that is labeled as uncompensated care. Is McDowell really doing the community a favor by giving free health care to illegals and then shifting the costs onto their paying patients while (according to CBSNews on non-profit hospitals) simultaneously citing their uncollected debts in fund-raising efforts, and to the government, in arguing for higher Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement payments?
