![]() ![]() Regardless of tax status, medical centers in markets with high medical debt do provide more charity care, according to an analysis by KHN and the Urban Institute, a Washington think tank. hospitals are nonprofit and must provide charity care as a condition of their tax-exempt status. Unlike drug companies, device makers, and many physician practices, most U.S. "If other parts of the community did as much as hospitals, we wouldn't be in this problem." "Hospitals have been pretty darn generous," said Stephen Love, president of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council. PRO FIT CARRY SYSTEMS FREE"Hospitals are in there trying to work on behalf of patients."ĭespite repeated requests from KHN, none of the medical systems around Dallas-Fort Worth would discuss their finances or the debt carried by patients.īut Smith and other hospital leaders point to billions of dollars of free or discounted care that hospitals nationwide provide every year. "The last thing that hospitals want is for their patients to face financial barriers," said Molly Smith who leads public policy at the American Hospital Association. ![]() Hospital industry leaders blame the patient debt on health insurers, citing the rise of high-deductible plans and other efforts that limit coverage. ![]() "Then they billed me hundreds," she says. "I never thought this would happen to me," he said.Īngie Johnson of Waxahachie, Texas, says the physical therapy center she went to after a knee injury initially told her visits would cost $60. He recently quit, citing the strain of so much travel. Last year, Zipprich returned to work, taking a job in New Jersey that required he commute back and forth to Texas. The Texans also owe a lot more - the median amount of medical debt on credit records in Tarrant and Dallas counties is nearly $1,000, compared with $400 or less in New York. That's more than five times the rate in the largest counties in New York, data shows. Overall in Tarrant County, 27% of residents with credit reports have medical debt on their records, credit bureau data analyzed by KHN and the nonprofit Urban Institute shows. "My stress was off the charts," he said, sitting in his neatly kept living room with his Shih Tzu, Murphy. His credit score plummeted below 600, and he had to refinance his home. Nationwide, many hospitals have grown wealthy, spending lavishly on advertising, team sponsorships, and even spas, while patients are squeezed by skyrocketing medical prices and rising deductibles.ĭavid Zipprich, a Fort Worth financial consultant and grandfather, was forced out of retirement after hospitalizations left him owing more than $200,000.īut even with insurance, Zipprich was inundated with debt notices and calls from collectors. The mismatched fortunes of hospitals and their patients reach well beyond this corner of Texas. Second is Dallas County, credit bureau data show. Of the nation's 20 most populous counties, none has a higher concentration of medical debt than Tarrant County, home to Fort Worth. Though exempt from taxes as nonprofit institutions, several, including Children's, notched double-digit margins in recent years, outperforming many of the area's Fortune 500 companies.īut patients aren't sharing in the good times. Other Dallas-Fort Worth medical systems have also thrived. Atop the stadium was also a big name: Children's Health.īusiness has been good for the billion-dollar pediatric hospital system, which agreed to pay $2.5 million to put its name on the Prosper stadium. And some 12,000 fans filled the team's new stadium, a $53 million colossus with the largest video screen of any high school venue in Texas. The game in this Dallas-Fort Worth suburb began with fireworks and a four-airplane flyover. Of the nation's 20 most populous counties, none has a higher concentration of medical debt than Tarrant County, home to Fort Worth.Īlmost everything about the opening of the 2019 Prosper High School Eagles' football season was big. are seeing high profits, even as their bills force patients into debt. Some hospitals in Texas and around the U.S. Aerial view of downtown Fort Worth, Texas. ![]()
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