Immigrant care drives Vegas hospital into debt

[okarol]

August 16, 2009

Immigrant care drives Vegas hospital into debt

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas hospital providing emergency dialysis services to 80 illegal immigrants says that accounts for much of its operating deficit.

The University Medical Center says the treatment will cost it about $24 million this fiscal year, aggravating a budget deficit that is expected to approach $70 million.

UMC’s chief operating officer, Brian Brannman, says the hospital receives no reimbursement from federal, state or local governments to provide the lifesaving treatment for people who have entered the country illegally.

Brannman says hospital administrators are torn by the situation. They’re required by federal law to treat anyone who shows up in an emergency and want to do it, but it threatens the hospital’s financial survival.

http://www.rgj.com/article/20090816/NEWS12/90816011/1321/NEWS

[Rerun]

So they are admitting it costs 300 thousand dollars a year to keep us alive.  $25,000 a month!

Math:  If there are 80 illegals and it will cost $24 million this year......

Does anyone really know for sure what dialysis truly costs.  No, not what Medicare says it costs and not what Kent Thiry says it costs....

[Chris]

Well if it is the same illegals, then they know they are using the system to their advantage. If they know they are illegal, why aren't they calling Border Patrool (forgot department, but thinking INS) and ship them back to Mexico. Not politically correct, but something has to get the ball rolling on what can be done.

[Hanify]

My renal team says it costs NZ$30k for PD and NZ$50k per year for dialysis.  We don't pay for it over here ourselves, so there's no reason for that amount to be incorrect.  $50000 nz is about US$35000

[Zach]

So they are admitting it costs 300 thousand dollars a year to keep us alive.  $25,000 a month!

Math:  If there are 80 illegals and it will cost $24 million this year......

Does anyone really know for sure what dialysis truly costs.  No, not what Medicare says it costs and not what Kent Thiry says it costs....

Here we go again, what does hemodialysis cost?
Maybe we should has a separate section called, "What does it cost?"

According the the National Renal Administrators Association (NRAA), the chart below lists the actual costs of hemodialysis in a dialysis center. LDOs are the Large Dialysis Organizations such as DaVita and FMC, with over 300 units.  SDO are the Small Dialysis Centers with fewer than 50 units.

As Bill Peckham has posted in the past, the cost of providing a dialysis treatment - not including the cost of medications - is $180 per dialysis treatment for the LDO and $210 per dialysis treatment for the SDO.

 

[BigSky]

They should be calling immigration and deport them.


I thing I might note about those "actual costs" 

Those figures by NRAA only hold true if several people, 3-4,  are being dialyzed and serviced by the same nurse.

The way its figured is not an actual per cost treatment, but per cost treatment with a group of people by the same nurse.


Hospitals routinely figure it as a per treatment, per one person fee. 

[Stacy Without An E]

Thanks for answering the question, "Why doesn't Stacy have a kidney yet after five and a half years on the Transplant List?"

[Hanify]

According to Boston Legal (that's where I get all my legal know-how) the US would potentially fall apart if all the illegal immigrants actually left.  Yes, I'm playing devil's advocate here.  No, I'm not being negative about the States.  Just putting forward an idea.

[Chris]

Hanify, I do mow my own lawn though! 

[okarol]

According to Boston Legal (that's where I get all my legal know-how) the US would potentially fall apart if all the illegal immigrants actually left.  Yes, I'm playing devil's advocate here.  No, I'm not being negative about the States.  Just putting forward an idea.

There are lots of legal immigrants too.

[Rerun]

We can keep the healthy ones!     

                                               

Doing the Math Zach then for LDO it is $28,000 a year and a SDO is $32,700 a year.

A far cry from $300,000 a year they are blaming illegals for, unless it cost extra for an interpreter.