Guinn seeks fed aid for hospitals

Monday, Dec. 24, 2001 | 9:52 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn is asking the federal government for an additional $11 million to help public hospitals, including University Medical Center in Las Vegas, to handle an expected increase in uninsured patients during tough economic times.

Guinn said he's "fairly confident" the grant will be approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

UMC is "beginning to see a marked change in the patient mix," Mike Alastuey, assistant Clark County manager, said Friday. "There is a higher percentage without insurance or the immediate means to pay."

The percentage of non-paying patients has risen by 60 to 70 percent, Alastuey said. With workers facing reduced hours and losing benefits in January, "We expect statistics to show an even more marked trend," he said.

Clark County "pressed (the state) for a long time to get the application through. We're working with them and we're hopeful," he said.

The money would be available to all public hospitals, Charles Duarte, administrator of the state Division of Health Care Financing and Policy, said. The state also will take a share to help finance the growing caseload in Medicaid, he said.

Hospitals that treat a disproportionate share of indigent patients receive extra federal money.

If the federal grant comes through, Duarte said there would not be any restrictions on how the money could be used. "It would be up to (the hospitals)," he said, adding the money could be used to cover the cost of treating patients who don't have insurance.

The federal government is seeking to end the program, Duarte said, but states, some of which get billions of dollars from this program, are opposing any cutbacks.

An estimated 9,700 members of the Culinary Union Local 226 in Las Vegas could lose their insurance coverage in January and February. Union officials say those who failed to work enough hours in September and October won't qualify for health coverage.

Those workers who have been laid off and have qualified for welfare are covered under the Medicaid program, which is half paid by the federal and state governments.