Scammer
Banned
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- For Gretchen Abel, trips to Kern Medical Center have no longer been strictly for medical reasons.
"I have quite a few medical bills I can't afford to pay because I don't have insurance," said Abel.
Abel is working with the hospital to figure out how to pay thousands of dollars in bills she racked up.
"I have a lot of bills between using an ambulance and a week of staying at the hospital and I can't afford it," said Abel.
She's not the only one. KMC CEO Paul Hensler says a third of the hospital's patients have no money. Because it is a county hospital, it must accept all patients into the emergency department.
If patients cannot pay, "We work them in house. We also send them to collection agencies if they're not responsible or we can't find them," said Hensler.
In the past 18 months, 50,000 accounts have gone unpaid, totaling nearly $150 million. The hospital is absorbing the cost, but not at a loss, thanks to some planning.
"We knew that a percent of accounts would not be collected and we already deducted that from the revenue each month in our financial statement," said Hensler.
Hensler says unpaid accounts is a problem that won't go away any time soon and may actually go up because major health insurance companies like Blue Shield are increasing their rates up to 59 percent.
"It'll mean a lot of employers will no longer be able to afford insurance so they may drop it all together. Those people who drop insurance will become uninsured and when they come here they become another unpaid account," said Hensler.
"I have quite a few medical bills I can't afford to pay because I don't have insurance," said Abel.
Abel is working with the hospital to figure out how to pay thousands of dollars in bills she racked up.
"I have a lot of bills between using an ambulance and a week of staying at the hospital and I can't afford it," said Abel.
She's not the only one. KMC CEO Paul Hensler says a third of the hospital's patients have no money. Because it is a county hospital, it must accept all patients into the emergency department.
If patients cannot pay, "We work them in house. We also send them to collection agencies if they're not responsible or we can't find them," said Hensler.
In the past 18 months, 50,000 accounts have gone unpaid, totaling nearly $150 million. The hospital is absorbing the cost, but not at a loss, thanks to some planning.
"We knew that a percent of accounts would not be collected and we already deducted that from the revenue each month in our financial statement," said Hensler.
Hensler says unpaid accounts is a problem that won't go away any time soon and may actually go up because major health insurance companies like Blue Shield are increasing their rates up to 59 percent.
"It'll mean a lot of employers will no longer be able to afford insurance so they may drop it all together. Those people who drop insurance will become uninsured and when they come here they become another unpaid account," said Hensler.
