Dear Editor:
Today, an estimated 41 million Americans – more than ever before – don’t have health insurance. In New Jersey there are also tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants ineligible for coverage.
Nevertheless, state and federal funding for health care continues to shrink. Medicare reimbursement is cut and Medicaid benefits are being scaled back for many of the working poor. Hospitals providing care for low income and uninsured populations are increasingly at risk. There are growing holes in our safety net of health care for the poor and needy, and unless something is done soon, the problem will get worse before it gets better.
According to a report released in December by Georgetown University’s Institute for Health Care Research and Policy, not-for-profit, Catholic hospitals like the one I serve – St. Mary Hospital in Hoboken – play a primary role in providing care for the uninsured in spite of great fiscal pressures.
Georgetown researchers studied reports from hundreds of Catholic hospitals across the country and selected seven to highlight in their study. They were chosen not because they were significantly different but because their activities represent the typical response of Catholic health care to glaring needs.
Large and small, rural, urban and suburban hospitals were included. The report notes that in Hoboken, one of the most densely populated cities in the Untied States, with a population of 45,000 within one square mile, St. Mary Hospital serves a sizable population of frail elderly people and recent immigrants. With the Holland Tunnel forming a virtual wall between Hoboken and Jersey City, few residents travel outside the city for health care.
Catholic hospitals have been caring for America’s poor and vulnerable for over 275 years. St. Mary Hospital has been doing it since 1863. As the Georgetown report confirmed, St. Mary today provides more services for the uninsured than all but one area hospital. Last year alone, St. Mary spent $20 million to provide unreimbursed care.
This includes services provided through the hospital’s Center for Family Health (which has almost 35,000 visits annually), assistance to individuals and families affected by AIDS/HIV (serving 600 clients a year,) the country’s largest mental health service, and a host of other community-based programs for vulnerable populations.
Our mission has always been to take care of all people in need. Ours is an active mission. We don’t just wait for the poor to come to us. We reach to all the people in our community and offer to those unable to pay the same quality, courtesy and compassion we extend to those with the greatest ability to pay.
Only 25 percent of St. Mary patients have private insurance. About 60 percent have only public insurance, which frequently does not cover the cost of providing care. In addition, 12% of our admissions are classified as charity care or self-pay. We are likely to be reimbursed only few cents on each dollar spent on these patients. In addition, like most Catholic hospitals, we provide services our patients need but which are not reimbursable by any government entity or insurer.
Larger Catholic health systems play a critical role in subsidizing troubled institutions like mine, thereby protecting access for our area’s most vulnerable citizens. St. Mary is part of the Bon Secours Health System, Inc., which owns and manages health care centers in several states.
As the Georgetown study pointed out, for years, congressional action focused on increasing funding for only a small portion of the health care safety net system – public hospitals and community health centers. While these facilities are important parts of the health care delivery system, they are not the only providers who make up the safety net. As numerous studies have confirmed, private, not-for-profit facilities like St. Mary Hospital provide the bulk of charity care in this country.
It’ time for state and federal officials to recognize this and take the following steps to secure the safety net by supporting Catholic hospitals that remain committed to providing high quality health care to the poor and most vulnerable.
Lawmakers must enact legislation that begins to address the growing epidemic of uninsured children, women, and men. Expanding coverage under existing programs like Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program can be achieved quickly, but a more comprehensive solution will be needed if we are to attain long-term accessible and affordable health care coverage for all.
Lawmakers should increase funding for all health care facilities that care for the uninsured and underinsured. This must include faith-based hospitals providing such care.
Despite the financial strain, St. Mary Hospital will continue its open-door policy and its commitment to providing high quality health care services to all those who need them. However, sustaining that commitment long-term means that others must find new strategies for subsidizing health care for people with the greatest needs.
The Georgetown University study confirms what we knew all along. Catholic hospitals are doing an outstanding job of caring for their communities – and they need help.
Anyone who wants to see the full Georgetown University study can access it on the internet at www.chausa.org or request a copy from the External Affairs Department, St. Mary Hospital, 308 Willow Avenue, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030.
Founded by the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, St. Mary Hospital, along with St. Francis Hospital and the Franciscan Home & Rehabilitation Center in Jersey City, became a part of the Bon Secours Health System in 2000. One year later they joined with Episcopal Christ Hospital in Jersey City to form the Bon Secours & Canterbury Partnership for Care.
Sr. Rose Marie Jasinski, CBS