Hispanic Advocacy Group Concerned Over Possible Sale, Merger of Louisiana Hospital
A possible takeover or merger of the not-for-profit Slidell Memorial Hospital in Louisiana's St. Tammany Parish, has elicited concern from the Council of United Latinos, a national Hispanic advocacy group, over the impact such a change could have on the uninsured, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Fourteen for-profit groups, including Tenet Healthcare Corp., which owns rival NorthShore Regional Medical Center in Slidell, have submitted proposals to Slidell Memorial's board seeking to co-manage, invest in or take over the hospital. The board is expected to review the proposals Aug. 21. In letters sent this week to hospital, city and parish officials, Council of United Latinos Executive Director K.B. Forbes requested that under any proposal the board approves:
- Uninsured patients who do not qualify for public health programs should be able to pay Medicare rates for treatment;
- Slidell should not attempt to sue or impose default collection judgments against uninsured patients whose only major asset is their home;
- The hospital should not attempt litigation or default collection judgements against uninsured patients unless a member of the hospital staff speaks with an uninsured patient directly to explain charges and payment options; and
- Charity care should be priced at Medicare rates and a list of patient days, procedures, discharges and charity-care contributions be disclosed to the public semiannually.
Concerns About Tenet
According to the Times-Picayune, the council is particularly concerned with a Tenet takeover. Forbes has said Tenet "price-goug[es] the poor," adding that he is worried about Tenet monopolizing health care services in the St. Tammany area. The council is part of a lawsuit in California that alleges Tenet charges uninsured patients three to 10 times more than what people in HMOs pay. Tenet Vice President Harry Anderson called the council's accusations "an outrageous, wild set of allegations trying to blame the problems of the uninsured on a hospital system." Other Tenet officials insisted their hospitals charge the same for every patient, but admitted that some patients covered by group insurance receive discounts negotiated by their insurer -- a "standard practice" in the industry, the Times-Picayune reports (Bartels, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 8/13).
