A Texas cancer center is considering what must be a difficult move: it's thinking about ceasing to offer cancer care to indigent and undocumented immigrants. The hospital, the University of Texas Medical Branch, set aside $12 million of its $1.4 billion annual budget to care for indigent cancer patients, but with that budget under pressure, execs are trying to find ways to stretch it. Even if it does follow through with this plan, it won't stop treating those already in its care, administrators said. Meanwhile, no ne knows exactly how many undocumented, indigent cancer patients it sees, so it's not clear what the financial impact of such a policy would be anyway.
To learn more about the controversy:
- read this Associated Press piece [1]
Related Articles:
Debate continues on illegal immigrant health costs. Report [2]
TennCare spends $15M on illegal immigrants. Report [3]
Case study: Another battle over charity care. Report [4]
VHA: Charity policy must come from the top. Report [5]
Time to prove community benefit. Report [6]
A new standard for voluntary hospitals? Report [7]
Links:
[1] http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/5345687.html
[2] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/debate-continues-on-illegal-immigrant-health-costs/2006-11-15
[3] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/tenncare-spends-15m-on-illegal-immigrants/2006-08-11
[4] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/case-study-another-battle-over-charity-care/2007-05-25
[5] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/vha-charity-policy-must-come-from-the-top/2007-05-23
[6] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/a-critical-time-to-prove-community-benefit/2006-10-11
[7] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/a-new-standard-for-voluntary-hospitals/2006-09-11