29 HOSPITALS OF THE US DECLARED BANKRUPTCY

Having faced with the problem of reimbursement of the patients’ maintenance costs and reduction in the number of ordinary patients due to a pandemic, many hospitals of the US filed for bankruptcy. For the moment, 29 hospitals have filed for bankruptcy.

American experts believe that financial problems may lead to bankruptcy of even more medical facilities in the coming months. According to the report, published by the American Hospital Association, the total amount of the hospitals losses for four months (1 March to 30 June) will amount to $ 202.6 billion. Most of this amount ($ 161 billion) is the losses, associated with the cancellation of the standard medical services: outpatient treatment and surgical operations.

According to the Moody's Investors Service, a sharp decline in revenue, caused by the suspension of the standard medical procedures that patients were previously choosing voluntarily, would lead to the actual bankruptcy of the majority of the hospitals in the state.

The hospitals that have filed for bankruptcy this year do not mention the pandemic as the main factor that prompted them to take this step as a rule.

Many medical facilities are operating as before, although two hospitals were still forced to close.

Among the main reasons that forced the hospitals to initiate bankruptcy procedures, provided for in Chapter 11 of the North American profile law, the representatives of the facilities cited a reduction in reimbursement rates and patient outflows. For example, Daniel J. Lauffer, director of Thomas Health Hospital in South Charleston, Virginia, believes that the bankruptcy process will help the medical institutions survive difficult times, deal with debts and consider the strategic opportunities in the future.

According to the estimates by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the cost of treating a patient with COVID-19 can amount to more than $ 20 thousand and more than $ 88 thousand for the patients who need support with ventilators.

According to the procurement experts, the value of some medical supplies has increased tenfold since the start of the pandemic. For example, hospitals in New York reported that they paid for medical gloves four times the normal price, and for the masks - 15 times. The experts note that millions of Americans face the loss of health insurance, given the overall increase in unemployment. The number of such citizens can reach 40 million people.

The experts from the American Hospital Association conducted a comprehensive analysis of the situation in order to better understand and quantify the financial problems faced by US health care. In their opinion, hospitalization of the patients with coronavirus seriously affected the hospitals costs. An additional item of expenditure was the money, allocated for the purchase of the personal protective equipment and additional support measures that some hospitals provided for their employees.