More hospital stays go unpaid

By Jennifer Burk

The Macon Telegraph

Carlton Garey owes The Medical Center of Central Georgia almost $6,000, and he can’t pay.

The 45-year-old construction worker lost his job in July. Though he didn’t have health insurance before, it wasn’t a problem because he never had to go to the doctor.

But recent health trouble sent him to the emergency room twice, most recently in October. Garey is one of almost two million people in Georgia without health insurance, a figure that has been exacerbated by the poor economy.

Unemployment in the state has remained near 10 percent during the past year, and about 20 percent of Georgians were uninsured in 2009 — the most without any health care coverage during the past decade.

The result is more self-pay patients who either can’t pay their bills or who have the funds but don’t pay their bills for other reasons. Hospitals call the former “charity care” and the latter “bad debt.”

Statewide, hospitals provided more than $1.3 billion in uncompensated care in 2007, the most recent year available, said Kevin Bloye, spokesman for the Georgia Hospital Association.

At the Medical Center, charity care and bad debt increased on the inpatient side by about $30 million in fiscal 2010, said Rhonda Perry, senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Hospital officials try to identify patients who may be sent home sooner and look at ways to avoid higher-cost services. However, “there is a point where if it continues to trend up, we will have to make changes to programs,” Perry said.