[Vision2020] Gritman's Community Service

Wed Mar 2 11:07:52 PST 2005

Hi Barbara,

I was using the term in the context of medically 
indigent under Idaho Code. That roughly 
translates as someone who is not 
medicaid/medicare eligible and is unable to make 
satisfactory arrangement with Gritman for payment 
for care. Those are the cases that are sent to 
the county indigent program for payment by the 
county taxpayers. The extent that Gritman chooses 
to not send a request for payment to the county 
is what I consider true giving, in a dollars and 
cents meaning, to the community. Any hospital, 
for-profit or non-profit, can choose not to 
accept medicaid/medicare clients, but I believe 
it is an all-or-nothing choice that only a few 
exclusive private for-profit hospitals choose to 
make. A hospital that elects to participate in 
medicaid/medicare explicitly accepts the level of 
payment provided by the federal guidelines as 
full and complete whether it truly covers their 
costs or not.

thank you,

Mark

At 4:45 PM +0000 3/2/05, Barbara Richardson Crouch wrote:
>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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