A Giant Hospital Chain (HCA) Creates a Blazing Profit Trail

Here's the article I was talking about in the other thread. It's long, but it's enlightening. It discusses the effects of the profit motive on good patient care.

Also, it seems HCA is up to the same nonsense it was doing when it was Columbia/HCA under the illustrious (but booted by the board just the same) Rick Scott.

I wonder how long it will be before HCA learns it has to repay a large part of its revenue due to up-coding? The beancounters and investors will NOT be happy when this happens. And it will.


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/business/hca-giant-hospital-chain-creates-a-windfall-for-private-equity.html?_r=4&hp&pagewanted=all

PB, you know HCA has always been a for profit organization right?

If you dont want to support for profit hospitals then yall shouldnt be going to west fl there or sacred heart.

and rick scott done nothing wrong or he would have been in jail like many other republicans that have gotten caught doing illegal stuff.

*~*Tree*~* wrote:PB, you know HCA has always been a for profit organization right?

If you dont want to support for profit hospitals then yall shouldnt be going to west fl there or sacred heart.

and rick scott done nothing wrong or he would have been in jail like many other republicans that have gotten caught doing illegal stuff.

Scott may not have done anything wrong himself, but his organization (Columbia/HCA) was out of control billing-wise. As their leader, he should have known that.

He was canned by the board of HCA. I know someone's head had to roll over that, and perhaps Scott didn't know anything, but darn it, he should have. I agree he is an intelligent man, so I just can't imagine that he knew nothing whatsoever about the up-coding that was going on.

Actually, Sacred Heart is a non-profit hospital, just like Baptist.

Oh.....and believe me, I know HCA is a for-profit entity. We were slammin' on them back in late '96 and '97 when they fell from grace.

Oh, yes. I know.

What concerns me is HCA appears to be doing the same thing all over again - the up-coding, the playing the insurers and the government for every penny they can get. Did they not learn from their first episode?

They shall fall from grace yet again, I think.

We all talk about lowering the cost of health care, yet here we have a company that is doing all it can to raise the cost of health care by exploiting all the insurance loopholes they can find.

Here's a better explanation, from good, old reliable Wiki:

On March 19, 1997, investigators from the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Health and Human Services served search warrants at Columbia/HCA facilities in El Paso and on dozens of doctors with suspected ties to the company.[8] Following the raids, the Columbia/HCA board of directors forced Rick Scott to resign as Chairman and CEO.[9] He was paid a settlement of $9.88 million, and left with 10 million shares of stock worth over $350 million, mostly from his initial investment.[10][11] In 1999, Columbia/HCA changed its name back to HCA, Inc.

In settlements reached in 2000 and 2002, Columbia/HCA pleaded guilty to 14 felonies. They admitted systematically overcharging the government by claiming marketing costs as reimbursable, by striking illegal deals with home care agencies, and by filing false data about use of hospital space.

HCA also admitted fraudulently billing Medicare and other health programs by inflating the seriousness of diagnoses and to giving doctors partnerships in company hospitals as a kickback for the doctors referring patients to HCA. They filed false cost reports, fraudulently billing Medicare for home health care workers, and paid kickbacks in the sale of home health agencies and to doctors to refer patients. In addition, they gave doctors "loans" never intending to be repaid, free rent, free office furniture, and free drugs from hospital pharmacies.[12][13]

Your right about sacred, they are owned by Acsension health. One of the largest catholic health organizations in the country.

I wonder how they are dealing with the new mandate on birth control being paid for with tax money?

have you seen any news about that there?

It would be nice if the "nonprofit" hospitals would stop buying all property within a half-mile of their hospital and quit building expensive additions. They could reduce costs quite a bit if they didn't keep spending money on capital expenditures... dammit!

*~*Tree*~* wrote:Your right about sacred, they are owned by Acsension health. One of the largest catholic health organizations in the country.

I wonder how they are dealing with the new mandate on birth control being paid for with tax money?

have you seen any news about that there?

I can tell you that they aren't paying for birth control and it won't be offered at their establishments.

Yomama wrote:It would be nice if the "nonprofit" hospitals would stop buying all property within a half-mile of their hospital and quit building expensive additions. They could reduce costs quite a bit if they didn't keep spending money on capital expenditures... dammit!

Im going to tell you why they do that.

They need to keep thier bond rating up.

and the bond rating is based on the dates of equipment, buildings etc.

when one area falls below several years old, the bond rating will slip so they need something new to add to the roster. If they dont, the bond rating goes lower and they loose money, millions on interest rates from having a lower bond rating.

clear as mud right?

Makes sense to upgrade buildings and equipment, but they don't need umpteen million acres.

Yomama wrote:Makes sense to upgrade buildings and equipment, but they don't need umpteen million acres.

I know of one reason they may need it. They plan ahead on some long term goals, things they dont touch for years when they do this.

kind of like baptist has extra land and they are hoping to have more hospital beds there and a ER. They didnt get the CON last I heard because of west fl being so close.

Just between me , you and everyone that reads here, pcola only needs sacred and baptist there.

Id expecdt baptist to grow out that way in the next 10 years esialy, maybe sooner. who knows

According to the Escambia County Property Appraiser Records, Baptist Hospital, Inc. doesn't have THAT much property (48 properties, 115.16 acres, $115 Million assessment.) I was wrong.

Site Address
9400 UNIVERSITY PKWY
9611 CAMBERWELL RD
NINE MILE RD
1157 W AVERY
1800 N E ST BLK
800 W LAKEVIEW AVE BLK
800 W LAKEVIEW AVE BLK
821 W LAKEVIEW AVE
830 W LAKEVIEW AVE
1901 N E ST
2000 W BLOUNT ST BLK
1400 W BLOUNT ST BLK
1301 W MORENO
1305 W MORENO ST
1400 W MORENO ST BLK
GULF BEACH HWY
100 S BLUE ANGEL PKWY
140 S BLUE ANGEL PKWY
120 S BLUE ANGEL PKWY
3000 WOODBURY CIR BLK
840 W MORENO ST
801 W AVERY ST
1720 N E ST
800 W AVERY ST BLK
800 W MALLORY ST BLK
800 W MALLORY ST BLK
838 W MALLORY ST
900 W BLOUNT ST BLK
1011 W MORENO ST
1001 W MORENO ST
1000 W BLOUNT ST
1010 W BLOUNT ST
903 W MORENO ST
901 W MORENO ST
1515 N E ST
912 W BLOUNT ST
910 W BLOUNT ST
1500 N E ST BLK
1000 W MORENO
1000 W MORENO ST
1302 W MORENO ST
1200 MORENO ST BLK
1218 W BLOUNT ST
1700 N J ST
1300 W MORENO ST
800 N E ST BLK

Yomama wrote:According to the Escambia County Property Appraiser Records, Baptist Hospital, Inc. doesn't have THAT much property (48 properties, 115.16 acres, $115 Million assessment.) I was wrong.

Site Address
9400 UNIVERSITY PKWY
9611 CAMBERWELL RD
NINE MILE RD
1157 W AVERY
1800 N E ST BLK
800 W LAKEVIEW AVE BLK
800 W LAKEVIEW AVE BLK
821 W LAKEVIEW AVE
830 W LAKEVIEW AVE
1901 N E ST
2000 W BLOUNT ST BLK
1400 W BLOUNT ST BLK
1301 W MORENO
1305 W MORENO ST
1400 W MORENO ST BLK
GULF BEACH HWY
100 S BLUE ANGEL PKWY
140 S BLUE ANGEL PKWY
120 S BLUE ANGEL PKWY
3000 WOODBURY CIR BLK
840 W MORENO ST
801 W AVERY ST
1720 N E ST
800 W AVERY ST BLK
800 W MALLORY ST BLK
800 W MALLORY ST BLK
838 W MALLORY ST
900 W BLOUNT ST BLK
1011 W MORENO ST
1001 W MORENO ST
1000 W BLOUNT ST
1010 W BLOUNT ST
903 W MORENO ST
901 W MORENO ST
1515 N E ST
912 W BLOUNT ST
910 W BLOUNT ST
1500 N E ST BLK
1000 W MORENO
1000 W MORENO ST
1302 W MORENO ST
1200 MORENO ST BLK
1218 W BLOUNT ST
1700 N J ST
1300 W MORENO ST
800 N E ST BLK

no big deal.

I know they have some land over connected to the 9 mile road center they hope to use. Theve ran out of room downtown.

they probaly have a teeny amount of room in gulf breeze, not much though.

either way, and I dont work there no more, but they are the only non profit "Locally owned" hospital you have there. even if I didnt work there and was going to contribute to a local hospital, it would be them. They do a lot of services for the community. Im proud to have worked there.

My wife (who was Magna Cum Laude from UWF in Accounting) worked for close to minimum wage as an accountant for Baptist. Thankfully, she got a job with a company that appreciated her talents.

(She's still working for them 30 years later, so I can't say which company)

Yomama wrote:My wife (who was Magna Cum Laude from UWF in Accounting) worked for close to minimum wage as an accountant for Baptist. Thankfully, she got a job with a company that appreciated her talents.

(She's still working for them 30 years later, so I can't say which company)

yes, the pay isnt the best for everyone. neither is sacred, ive worked for both.

I guess 30 years ago things were different. I bet they would appreciate a good accountant now.

*~*Tree*~* wrote: I bet they would appreciate a good accountant now.

She supervises 70 people where she is now. She's responsible for over 18 Billion dollars of payments annually.

Yomama wrote:

*~*Tree*~* wrote: I bet they would appreciate a good accountant now.

She supervises 70 people where she is now. She's responsible for over 18 Billion dollars of payments annually.

awesome!

shes with a really big company. good thing baptist didnt do her right, she would have never been able to manage that kind of cash with them.