Star-Telegram Looks at Uninsured Care at Texas Hospital

The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram on June 10 examined the level of care for the uninsured at John Peter Smith Hospital and found that while the facility, funded by Tarrant County, "has relied more heavily on public funds than any of [Texas'] large hospitals," it has also "cut back the most on uninsured residents' access to treatment." The Star-Telegram's investigation, based on a review of hospital documents and interviews with patients, social service workers and hospital staff members, determined that Tarrant County's public hospital system has remained financially sound compared to the "recently plagued public hospitals in Dallas and Houston," but the viability has come, in part, at the expense of the uninsured: those without coverage must earn less than those in other Texas counties to qualify for subsidized care, and patients at John Peter Smith are not afforded the option of payment plans. And in one of "several [decisions] in the late 1990s that gradually restricted access for uninsured patients," the hospital made it more difficult for the uninsured to schedule an appointment at one of its 16 neighborhood health centers. At the same time, the Star-Telegram reports that "hospital system leaders plan to spend millions on land and building." Kevin Wacasey, an emergency physician, said, "My concerns are that funding is not reaching patient care, but rather is being diverted to other unnecessary items such as construction, renovation and acquisition of building space" (Huff, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, 6/10).