Throughout much of its history, Chesapeake Regional Healthcare has been on strong financial footing. It’s important for both the patient and you.
Running a hospital requires a lot of professional staff and clinicians, and inflation has made that even more difficult. Chesapeake Regional is focused on carefully reinvesting and preserving modest profits to meet the local health needs of our communities. Spend two pennies of the money you earn today and save two pennies for tomorrow. However, this is not possible due to the rising costs of labor, drugs, and consumables.
Hospitals across the United States are facing financial challenges due to economic inflation and the historically high and ever-increasing costs of patient care. Community hospitals like ours continue to be hit the hardest. It’s time to ask the hard questions: How can we ensure we’re here for the patients and families who rely on us today and tomorrow?
Just as Chesapeake Regional Hospital is trying to solve rising costs, so are many other hospitals across the country. As part of that process, they require for-profit insurance companies to pay their fair share, resulting in an increase in contract disputes between hospitals and insurance companies across the country. why? This is because the hospital is holding the insurance company responsible. Because it has to be done. It’s time for health insurance companies to prioritize member interests over profits and start paying hospitals fairly in the face of rapidly rising costs. This is why Chesapeake Regional is currently negotiating with Anthem.
To understand why insurance companies charge different rates for different hospitals, it is important to recognize that insurance companies are motivated by profits. Anthem (Elevance Health) posted profits of about $6 billion last year alone. An insurance company’s goal is to make as much profit as possible, so they pay each hospital as little as possible, while keeping hospitals in-network to provide “choice” and providing benefits to members and their families. motivated to reassure the
Chesapeake Regional has shown that public data shows that Anthem costs our regional hospital more for the exact same services than other nearby hospitals, even though costs for staffing, supplies, and medications are relatively the same. We’re seeing you pay 25% less. Insurers like Anthem often reduce payments based on hospital size. That’s because independent hospitals like Chesapeake Regional Hospital don’t see as many patients as larger systems, so they don’t make as much money. For insurance companies. The cost is basically the same regardless of the size of the hospital. So why should we be paid less for the exact same service while incurring the same costs? We are just as good, if not better, than other hospitals in the area. We save lives, admit babies, and care for patients, and we deserve to be compensated for the same.
Bottom line: We are doing our part to provide health care to our communities, and in the face of rising patient care costs, insurance companies are forcing nonprofit hospitals like Chesapeake Regional to continue serving our communities. We must play a role in supporting the effective use of these resources.
Reese Jackson, JD, MHA, FACHE, is president and CEO of Chesapeake Regional Healthcare. He is an accomplished healthcare strategist with over 20 years of progressive leadership experience in a variety of healthcare settings and organizations across the country. He joined Chesapeake Regional in 2016 and has led a $150 million health system renovation project.
