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Friday, Oct. 30, 2009

The Medical Center's cuts to services for the poor could backfire

The recent cuts to services for the poor by the Medical Center of Central Georgia brings home the need to reform our health-care system. At the end of the day, somebody has to be paid. In the richest nation on Earth, we have millions of people who, for whatever reason, are without health care, and those who do have it end up paying for those who do not. It is a hidden tax that hospitals, doctors and other medical professionals levy. And in our convoluted system, those consumers have no idea what they are buying, how much it costs or if there is a better deal down the hall. And it’s difficult for those who want to know to find out.

Our health-care system is similar to buying a car, but we have no way of knowing the base price of the car or the cost of the accessories. We can’t even choose the color. We walk on the dealer’s floor, get the keys and drive away. A third party negotiates the price, and we only directly pay for a small portion.

The poor, however have to make difficult decisions, particularly when services are cut, and they have to make those decisions in the same confusing atmosphere as paying customers.

Though the Medical Center can point to declining needs for its W.T. Anderson Clinic, patient counts can be deceiving. Just because the clinic isn’t seeing as many patients does not mean they have disappeared. Certainly, there were probably some who were receiving help that didn’t deserve it, and the extensive checks into credit and proof of employment, or lack of, drove them away. A more likely scenario is the hassle factor. With the formulary being cut to just generics and drugs donated by pharmaceutical companies, many of the patients that used the clinic are either not taking their medicines or getting them from another source. That could be one reason the emergency room visits are up and patients presenting there are sicker than they might be otherwise.

The Medical Center says it is responding to funding cuts from the county, Medicaid and Medicare, but the cuts are hard for patients needing the services to swallow when the hospital has reserves of $400 million or more.

It may be even harder for commissioners who made the decision to cut the contribution for indigent care during the summer to understand. Instead of feeling the need to restore the cuts, they may be moved to eliminate any contribution during the next budget cycle. Their constituents may demand it.

— Charles E. Richardson.

for the Editorial Board