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New Orleans hospitals drowning under financial burdens

Patient Financial Services Weekly Advisor, August 2, 2007

When Hurricane Katrina flooded, and closed, Charity Hospital in 2005, New Orleans lost a major public hospital. Along with University Hospital, which now functions at only 33% of its former capacity, Charity provided healthcare to more than 80% of the city's uninsured and poor residents, according to a July 31 article in USA Today.

The five New Orleans hospitals now providing care in the place of Charity and in light of University's decreased capacity, are losing massive amounts of money as Medicare payments are failing to provide for their skyrocketing expenses. Increasing salaries for doctors, nurses and other staff is a large part of the hospital's rising costs; the hospitals have had to undergo major efforts to hire and maintain staff since the storm.

The hospitals providing healthcare for the metro New Orleans area are expected to lose $135 million in 2007 and as much as $405 million in 2009, according to the USA Today article.

To read the full story, click here.

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