Tenet plans new pricing for uninsured

Gary Gentile

Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2003 | 9:44 a.m.

LOS ANGELES -- Tenet Healthcare, the nation's second largest hospital chain, said Tuesday it will alter the way it charges uninsured patients, offering discounted prices and pledging not to place liens on their homes.

Tenet plans to charge uninsured patients the same lower rates as managed care programs and will help them apply for financial assistance to pay bills.

Tenet also said it will not pursue legal action against uninsured patients who are unemployed or without other significant income.

"We strongly believe that those who have an ability to pay for their health care should do so," Tenet Chief Executive Jeffrey Barbakow said. "But pursuing legal action to collect from unemployed patients or those who truly have no assets other than their home is no longer something Tenet hospitals will do."

The announcement came as the company faces a federal probe into whether its aggressive pricing policies improperly triggered supplementary Medicare payments for care.

Tenet has said that it did not break any regulations, but announced last year that it would pursue new ways of dealing with uninsured patients as part of a new pricing strategy.

The new policy standardizes what some hospitals already did. Tenet's individual facilities negotiate payment terms with uninsured patients on a case-by-case basis.

But because charging the uninsured full retail prices is required by law, Tenet's new pricing plan must be approved by state and federal regulators. The company intends to make a formal request within the next two weeks to Medicare regulators.

Tenet's "Compact with Uninsured Patients" also settles a lawsuit from a group representing Hispanic patients in California.

The group, Consejo de Latinos Unidos, sued Tenet last February, claiming the company charged the patients rates that are four to seven times higher than those for members of health maintenance organizations, then collected inflated reimbursements from the government.

Tenet's plan could help change an unfair practice and lead the nation to sensible reforms, said K.B. Forbes, the group's executive director.

Shares in Tenet -- owner of Lake Mead Hospital in North Las Vegas -- fell a cent to close Tuesday at $18.05 each on the New York Stock Exchange.