Summary: Financing The Uninsured

Financing the Uninsured

In the United States one sixth of the population is without health insurance. Uncompensated care is being provided not only to uninsured and disadvantaged, but also to a growing number of self-supporting, uninsured family, who cannot pay hospital bills (Sigmond, 2004-2005). It has been pointed out that 70% of people without insurance have access to health insurance but have elected not to carry it (Sataloff, 2010). Currently hospitals spend tens of billions of dollars annually providing care for the uninsured.

Peer reviewed articles The first article I reviewed stated that of the 70% people who have elected to not carry health insurance, that 11 million decline health insurance from their employers (Sataloff, 2010).

In this article several models where talked about to eliminate the uninsured problems, but no plan has been devised as of this date. There are more uninsured every day, they are homeless or below poverty levels, more unable to pay their hospital bills every day. The hospital then end up absorbing most of the cost of the uninsured. If providers would use the money they receive from uncompensated care to pay expenses on a case-by-case basis. This would separate the expenses off bad debt and charity care

Patients may be able to pay for their care a small amount at a time, if they receive one bill, receiving multiples is confusing and hard to deal with. The two articles I read have the interest of the patient as most important, instead of separating each little item.

Applicability

The articles I read, both included the excessive expenditures that are absorbed due to non-insured population. One way to decrease the cost of uninsured is to make sure to separate the billing within the hospitals, regarding charity cases from bad debt, some hospital receive money from the government to help fund charity cases. One way to decrease expenses would be to combine the patients care into one bill. One bill is less intimating and help the patient with being able to budget a payment for their care.

Analysis

There is no reason why organizations could not change their accounting practices and bill the patients as a whole instead of per procedures/departments. I do not know financial nurses aspects as of yet, but this to me seems simple. Paying one bill, is less intimidating to the patients and the hospital might see a better response to this type of