The price that a hospital charges a cash-paying patient for a procedure is often lower than the negotiated price that a commercial insurance plan would pay, a new study in Health Affairs has revealed.
To make ends meet, hospitals have been forced to spend down reserves that would otherwise be used to invest in new technology and service lines, make infrastructure upgrades, or pay down long-term debt. This is unsustainable, and many hospitals have already taken to closing beds and services as a way to preserve resources for the most critical services.
With difficult economic pressures and increased caseloads straining its ability to care for patients in the post-COVID era, Santa Clara County is considering expanding its healthcare system by purchasing another area hospital.
This year's mental health bill addressed the needs of people who cycle between homelessness, emergency rooms and jail, said Whitney Griggs, the health policy analyst for Georgians for a Healthy Future. They are people who have severe and persistent mental illness and are falling through the cracks in the system, she said.
St. Charles Health System is cutting back on the contracted "traveling nurses" jobs added during the COVID-19 pandemic's critical staffing issues, as they work to balance the books amid operating losses and bleak financial results reported by hospitals across the state.