[08/19/04] Health-care costs are a challenge for both insured and uninsured patients, but suing hospitals is not the best way to combat the challenge, Dr. Daniel Jones said in Vicksburg Wednesday.

Lawsuits filed by Oxford attorney Richard Scruggs are pending in federal court against nonprofit hospitals in 21 states, claiming they charge uninsured patients more for procedures than they charge insured patients or their providers for the same care.

Jones is a Vicksburg native and is vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. As a state institution UMC is exempt from lawsuits under the sovereign immunity provisions or liable only up to prescribed limits.

At the Vicksburg Lions Club meeting, Jones said Americans need to recognize that health care is expensive in all aspects and the health system in place right now is not working to fix the problem.

“It’s not fair for anyone to pay more than they need to for health care, but suing hospitals is tough business and puts added pressure on hospitals, which could result in putting stress on the care given to all patients,” he said.

The suits include 40 hospital systems and affiliate hospitals. Tupelo-based North Mississippi Health Services, not named as a defendant, nonetheless reached an agreement with the Scruggs group on Aug. 5. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood has called the deal, under which the uninsured will get some pricing and collections relief, a model that could result in settling all the cases.

Jones, however, explained that while government programs pay hospitals for care given to patients enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid, there are also programs that ease the burden of uncompensated care. He also said for years hospitals have had to mark up rates anywhere from 100 to 200 percent through insurance premiums to pay for the cost burden.

“At the University of Mississippi Medical Center an assessment is taken to determine financial need, and free care or care at a discounted rate is given to those who qualify,” he said. “We’ve always done this, but Scruggs is wanting every hospital to do this because government regulations have added pressure and forced uninsured patients to be charged the highest rates.”

UMC is not a free hospital, as many think. Although there is a state supplement, patients are expected to pay.

“In reading the figures for the fiscal year that ended in June, we billed $67 million in care to uninsured patients compared with $170 million to insurance companies,” he said.

“Mississippi has some of the most charitable people in the country, but we have fewer resources to work with. Health-care costs are a national problem, and overcharging is by no means right, but it’s legal,” he said.

Jones said the only benefit of the Scruggs lawsuits is the fact that the burden of health-care costs is now transparent.

“It’s a subject everyone needs to question and understand. It affects all of us,” he said.