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UMC losing money in treating international patients

UMC is projected to lose about $6 to 8 million this fiscal year because of health care services it provides for international patients who don't pay hospital bills.

Most of University Medical Center's international patients tend to be from Mexico because of Arizona's proximity to the border, said Barbara Felix, the International Patient Services coordinator.

However, Felix said UMC cares for patients from all over the world, including countries such as Germany, France and Canada.

"We certainly can't say its exclusively from Mexico," she said.

UMC is projecting to lose about $6 to 8 million in billed charges to patients and the hospital probably will not be reimbursed, Felix said. This figure reflects billed charges from July 1999 to June 30, 2000, she added.

"It's getting harder and harder for us to replace the moneys spent for people who don't get assistance," she said.

Felix said most of these patients are suffering from severe trauma, which is why they are sent to UMC - a Level 1 trauma center.

Sometimes these patients have purposely crossed the Mexican border to receive Arizona health care, or have become ill while in the desert or may have been in Arizona already and suffered severe trauma, Felix said.

Under federal law, U.S. hospitals must provide health services to any person who needs it.

"Anyone that appears on our premises and has a bona fide emergency will be seen," Felix said.

John Duval, UMC's chief operating officer, said he would support legislation that would provide monetary relief for hospitals that provide health services to international patients, who often don't pay for treatment.

He added that UMC will probably not be reimbursed for the health care services it has provided.

"The likelihood of us receiving compensation for that care is quite remote," Duval said.

U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, is sponsoring a bill that would provide reimbursements for emergency health services spent on undocumented aliens. Senate bill 1709 would also require the federal government to reimburse charges relating to the incarceration of illegal aliens.

Laurie Fenton, Kyl's chief of staff, said the bill would provide $1.4 billion in funding during a four-year period to all hospital localities along the border. Fenton said the bill would primarily affect Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas and Florida.

"The local and county entities have been burdened with the costs that are not reimbursable," Fenton said.

She said she was unaware when the bill may come to a vote, but she hopes it passes through the Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations committee this year.

A release from Kyl's office stated that he thinks hospitals along the border need relief.

"The federal government is obligated to fully reimburse states, localities, and hospitals for the emergency medical treatment of illegal immigrants," Kyl stated in the Oct. 7 release.

The total annual cost to treat illegal immigrants for medical emergencies is about $2.8 billion a year, Kyl stated. He attributed the figure to a preliminary Congressional Budget Office estimate from two years ago.

"It is roughly estimated that the federal government reimburses states for approximately half those costs," Kyl stated.

He added that Arizona estimates "it incurs unreimbursed costs of $20 million annually to treat undocumented immigrants on an emergency basis."

UMC has experienced this problem for about 15 years but it has increased recently, Felix said.

"It's definitely going up - the numbers are increasing," she said.

Felix said she suspects the reason may be because more people are crossing the border from Mexico than in the past. But she also said UMC has had a "very good" relationship with Mexican health officials.

Rob Daniels, U.S. Border Patrol spokesman, said more Mexicans crossed the border into the Tucson sector during the month of February than ever before. The Tucson sector extends for about 281 of the 350 miles of the Arizona-Mexico border.

February's 73,000 figure is higher than all of the people who crossed the border in 1992, Daniels said.

He said the influx is related to Mexico's economy.

"The economic conditions in Mexico are very seriously depressed," Daniels said.

Felix said many hospitals along the U. S.-Mexico border are dealing with problems similar to UMC's.

Felix added that her office helps international patients receive care when they return to their country of origin.

"They will go back when they are medically stable and when we have an idea of the facility that can continue their needs," she said.

Sometimes UMC pays for patients to be flown or driven home in an ambulance. Some patients are released to families or friends if they are healthy enough, Felix said.

She said one of the most important jobs of her office is to try to make international patients feel comfortable.

"Getting people into their own environment, with their own support system, when a person is seriously ill is very important," she said.

She added that being in an unfamiliar setting while being seriously ill can be frightening for many people.