[Vision2020] Gritman's Community Service

[Barbara Richardson Crouch]

Mark,

How do you define indigent?  Is the person homeless? Working poor? Most 
medicaid/medicare patients are low income and therefore cannot even pay 
their portion of costs.  IRS standards require reporting in a particular 
way, so those numbers are easy to obtain.  If you want a particular break 
down, I believe Gritman will have to query for that information.

Barbara



> Not that I'm lookin for a gift horse to do a 
> dental exam on, but I have just  a teeny bit of 
> knowledge of medical accounting practices.. just 
> enough to make myself foolish occasionally.
> 
> So here goes: How  much of the $11M is truly care 
> for indigent patients and how much is the 
> difference in the amount the hospital receives 
> from Medicaid/Medicare and what they would charge 
> a willing private patient paying cash?
> 
> Mark
> 
> At 12:05 PM -0800 3/1/05, Tom Hansen wrote:
> >Impressive.  Very impressive.
> >
> >Consider the alternative, Moscow without Gritman.  Scary, isn't it?
> >
> >We shouldn't be thankful to Gritman, not criticizing them.
> >
> >Over $11 million in non-reimbursed medal care?  WOW !
> >
> >The city of Moscow . . . No . . . Latah County owes Gritman Medical 
Center
> >an immeasurable debt of gratitude.
> >
> >Many of those at Gritman are volunteers whose names we will probably 
never
> >know.
> >
> >Thank you, Gritman, for your selfless contributions to this beautiful
> >community.
> >
> >Take care, Moscow.
> >
> >Tom Hansen
> >Moscow, Idaho
> >
> >We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, 
some are
> >dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they 
all
> >exist very nicely in the same box.
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-
bounces at moscow.com]
> >On Behalf Of Barbara Richardson Crouch
> >Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2005 11:46 AM
> >To: bjswan at moscow.com; Shelly; Vision2020 at moscow.com
> >Subject: [Vision2020] Gritman's Community Service
> >
> >Mark and Community,
> >
> >I have reviewed Gritman's Form 990 from the year 2003 (the latest
> >available).  And I think it is important for the community to know the
> >exact amount of Griitman's Community Contributions.  In 2003 Gritman
> >provided $11,699,750.02 in direct patient care that was not reimbursed. 
> >Gritman absorbs these costs for the community.  In addition to this
> >amount, Gritman provided another $1,223,791 to promote health care in 
the
> >community by providing services such as Gritman Adult Day Health, CPR
> >classes, smoking cessation clases, etc.
> >
> >As a community board member, I have been very impressed with Gritman's
> >concern for the cost of health care.  I know the baord does everything 
in
> >their power to ensure that our community receives the best health care 
at
> >the best price.  The costs associated with Health Care are a concern
> >nationwide.  Moscow is no exception.  But because Gritman and its Board 
of
> >Directors have been fiscally repsonsible and carry a fund balance, they
> >are able to keep the increases to a minimum.  As a not-for-profit, it is
> >imperative that reserves be maintained to ensure the long-term viability
> >of the organization.
> >
> >As for Donovan's comments.  Gritman did not play a role in the 
University
> >requiring health insurance for its students.  We all know that one 
injury
> >or illness can create thousands of dollars in medical bills.  If a 
student
> >is not insured, they run the risk of ruining their credit for many 
years,
> >plus the rest of the community pays for their health care.  I know that
> >college is expensive, however, when I attended the University of
> >Mississippi in the early 1980's I paid more per semester than resident
> >students pay in fees today at the Univeristy of Idaho!  
> >
> >Barbara
> >
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> 
> 




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