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Show ''vmmimmmvmvmmirmmmmim-wm,vvmtvnJjin hiim mnmi'm iiiiiiiwiiii in l Hri Picture f 1 tlJFwi iiiunii.iiwwwi niii iii ii iw i iiini hi i 1. 1 ii i i n ii n i n tm- II I ijuufti . iJtMiijijLULJiMlJLXJll IllHllfltll iWifcMlim I tf II t Ml If i " -f -f ( BY RICK KINNERSLEY Utah Hospital Cost Containment ll ,more than a year now the of Utah have been pro-8""g pro-8""g attempts by a division of Utah Government to set hospital bed V V Ute Industrial Commis-, Commis-, m a well intentioned attempt to E. "Whospitai costs, has set a limit toon !?omt of money wi11 i hf ,h? State Insurance Fund to : hWs for their services. The .v JX, of course, is to put a lid on of health care. ' the7 intenoned, the falacy ' chal 18 il assumes hospitals 'tthei"1? mdustrial patients more 1 ' othk ? rendered to them than kerP'W Patients. This mis-( mis-( "spital 'I! m0re overhead for the 'other m turn increases costs d X Tf hospital rdered r.Wpro' lnese tests, operations "ioSsln "! administered by telthoui ln order to improve the tle or2 3 patient- The costs (h PatW TS the same for If k 8nd are bmed according ' Slr. a patient comes to HhK .doesn,t Pay for the ir W form 7? must absorb the V, or bad-debt" or Parity if we cost on to other ra- tients who pay for the services they receive. The State Industrial Commissions' failure to pay the full price for hospital services is only one in a long list of groups, starting with Medicare, who will not pay the full rate. Because of hospitals' attempts to collect fees for services, which are not authorized by the State Insurance Fund, the Industrial Indus-trial Commission recently attempted "to impose a statewide version of "hospital cost containment." A concept con-cept which was rejected by the U.S. Congress last November, and the Utah Legislature in February. Lawmakers, Law-makers, in their wisdom, could see that health costs going up with inflation, infla-tion, and failure to pay the full price for those services, in the long term will result in hospital bankruptcy. Pressure Pres-sure from workers to improve wages, combined with attempts to curtail costs, added to those who fail to pay the price of service are squeezing our community hospitals to the limit. The hope is that those forces acting on health care will recognize this dilemma dilem-ma before the upcoming crisis closes down hospital beds, limits emergency service, and forces people out of work. Wmmkhw Column BaU UTAH HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION fcfl |