Yesterday, I was less than enthusiastic about the $1.2 million set aside by NorCo Council for mobile health vans to be used by both of the hospitals that permeate the Lehigh Valley. For one thing, they are already very well-endowed, as the salaries paid to their administrators make clear. For another, they're already everywhere in brick-and-mortar buildings.
I was unaware that one of these hospitals - St. Luke's - received 26,000 visits from uninsured people last year, and served 19,000. In my view, this justifies the purchase.
Apparently, then, the Obamacare plan doesn’t really help every group. Medicaid patients are well taken care of, for sure. Medicare enrollees get some extra help with expenses. It must be the lower wage earners who find Obamacare to be too expensive meaning the biggest group who is essentially uninsured. I will remind, everyone who enters a hospital WILL be treated regardless of ability to pay.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me, the best use of these vans would be to serve the homeless who find themselves helpless out on the streets and in public areas. Some mentally incapable of finding solutions to their needs.
The law requires tax exempt hospitals to provide medical care to uninsured people in need of care. The amount of treatment is to stabilize. The hospital systems are self-reporting. It could be a referral or a Band-Aid or more. Point is don't give them a pass for technically obeying the law. Those numbers furnished to you (probably by a McClure based source) are in a vacuum.
ReplyDeleteWhat overall percentage of patient care were uninsured? What percentage of their billing?
Hospitals are leaches on society. They suck cash out of a local economy and funnel it off elsewhere. Most do not pay taxes, most are/ or have non profit entities embedded within them to skate tax laws. Many have political action entities. I personally feel that hospitals and medical center should be mandated to keep the money they earn in regions they support and not funnel it off into some void somewhere. Do some digging on them hospitals, medical centers and care sites in the region and see if you can figure out what they actually have without have to compile numerous disparity things to guess your best at what is actually there. I bet they are now giving the contributor of the 1.2 millions a plaque on the trucks.
ReplyDeleteCheck this out. Pretty amazing for on of LVHN non-profits.
ReplyDeletehttps://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/222458317
Total Revenue
$3,248,817
Total Functional Expenses $1,890,293
Net income $1,358,524
Notable sources of revenue Percent of total revenue
Contributions $0
Program services $0
Investment income $3,248,817 100%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising $0
Sales of assets $0
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $0
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $0
Professional fundraising fees $0
Other salaries and wages $350,382 18.5%
Other
Total Assets $38,839,760
Total Liabilities $0
Net Assets $38,839,760
Key Employees and Officers Compensation
JOHN D STANLEY ESQ (CHAIR/TRUSTEE) $0
JOHN F MALLOY PHD (VICE CHAIR/TRUSTEE) $0
MARTIN K TILL (VICE CHAIR/TRUSTEE) $0
+ Show more
So according to their own annual report they only had $3,129,673,000 in revenue. And yet they need another 1million to pay for some trucks. Wow!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.lvhn.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/Combined%20Statement%202020.pdf