The country’s largest publicly traded hospital chain continues to make money despite an increase in the number of patients who can’t pay for their care. Franklin-based Community Health Systems reported earnings up 18% compared with the third quarter last year.
Even though Community Health met or exceeded expectations, analysts are asking pointed questions about bad debt from caring for the uninsured. For the quarter, the hospital chain saw a 6-percent increase in uninsured patients. But CEO Wayne Smith says it’s not the sea change some expect.
“We have not seen any dynamic in the marketplace, including unemployment or uninsured or any of those kinds of things that have dramatically changed our bad debt to date.”
Smith says he suspects one factor keeping charity care from jumping up is that many of the unemployed are maintaining health coverage through COBRA. The provision allows laid off workers to keep their insurance, typically at much higher rates, but the federal stimulus package is now subsidizing COBRA coverage for up to nine months.
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