Search is Powered by Google
Public Health News

Wall Street Journal Examines Concerns Over Large Not-for-Profit Hospital System In Southwestern Virginia

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 29 Aug 2008 - 7:00 PDT

email icon email to a friend   printer icon printer friendly   write icon view / write opinions   rate icon rate article
Current Article Ratings:

Patient / Public:not yet rated

Health Professional:not yet rated

Article Opinions: 0 posts

The Wall Street Journal on Thursday profiled Carilion Health System, a large not-for-profit hospital system in southwestern Virginia that critics maintain has created a monopoly on health care services in the area.

According to the Journal, not-for-profit hospitals, which account for the majority of U.S. hospitals, receive tax exemptions and "are supposed to channel the income they generate back into operations, while providing benefits to their communities." However, not-for-profit hospitals have "come under fire from patient advocates and members of Congress for "stinting on charity care, even as they amass large cash hoards, build new facilities and award big paychecks to their executives," the Journal reports.

In the case of Carilion, the Department of Justice in 1989 filed a failed antitrust lawsuit in an effort to block a merger between Carilion and a local hospital over concerns that the move would create a monopoly on health care services in the area. Almost 20 years later, health care costs in the area are "soaring," and health insurance premium rates in the area have increased from the lowest in the state to the highest, the Journal reports.

Carilion charges four to 10 times as much for some health care services as other providers in the area, but, with eight hospitals, 11,000 employees and $1 billion in assets, residents in most cases must seek care through the hospital system or travel outside the area. In addition, although Carilion receives about $50 million annually in tax exemptions, the hospital system spent only $42 million in charity care in 2007 and only $30 million in 2006.

Carilion officials maintain that the hospital system does not have a monopoly on health care services in the area because of competition from Lewis-Gale Medical Center, a hospital owned by for-profit chain HCA. In addition, "Carilion says it charges more for certain procedures because it has to subsidize operations such as an emergency department and treatment for the uninsured," according to the Journal. Carilion CEO Edward Murphy also said that the increase in health care costs in the area is part of a national trend and has resulted from overuse of services (Carreyrou, Wall Street Journal, 8/27).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.




Customized Homepage Weekly Newsletters Daily News Alerts
Home About Us News Licensing Free Website Feeds Free Tools & Content Links Tell a Friend Accessibility Help / FAQ Article Submission Contact Us
Psychiatry Urology
Bipolar Diabetes Schizophrenia

add medical news today to your facebook

medical news gadget

Add to Google


developers
website gadget code
website news code
medical news rss feed links


MedReader RSS Reader

customize your homepage


These are the most read articles from this news category for the last 6 months:
Top Article Star
US Salmonella Outbreak Traced to Raw Tomatoes
04 Jun 2008
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers in New Mexico and Texas not to eat certain types of raw red tomatoes as they could be contaminated with an uncommon form of Salmonella that is rarely fatal to...


First  Aid Kit image First Aid Kit

While home first aid kits can be purchased at most retailers, it may be wiser to create your own tailored to your family's needs. Here, the essentials and recommendations of a home first aid kit are explained...

Fine China image Fine China

Many people collect and display fine china, without realizing eating off them can be hazardous. With the lead content in vintage china posing health risks to adults and children alike, the use of these pieces as tableware should be limited...

View more videos...