Hospitals Say AIDS Cases Are Financial Drain

Some hospital officials told Congress today that the soaring number of AIDS cases are straining their facilities and could force them out of business.

“We accept the role of a ‘safety net’ hospital, but we need financial help and we need it soon,” Patrick Lennon, the administrator of Glades General Hospital in Belle Glade, Fla., said.

Lennon, appearing before a House health subcommittee, said his town has the “dubious distinction of being the AIDS capital of the United States” with more than one victim per 1,000 residents.

There have been 44 confirmed AIDS cases in Belle Glade, and 37 patients have been admitted at one time or another to the 73-bed hospital. The cost of each stay has ranged from $10,000 to $65,000, he said.

Because a large proportion of the victims are undocumented, illegal aliens from Haiti, they do not qualify for any federal or state health programs like Medicaid, the health plan for the indigent.

Without help, he said the hospital “will not be able to remain financially solvent.”

Another witness, Stephen Gamble, president of the Hospital Council of Southern California, said the care of AIDS patients is particularly costly because they require extra laboratory work and special care.

As the number of cases multiplies, Gamble said, any hospital that cannot recover all its costs from insurance companies or the government “either has to transfer the patient or close its doors.”

The federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta estimates the cost of treating an AIDS patient over a two-year period is $140,000.

Last week, the Senate approved $16 million for four demonstration treatment projects around the country for AIDS victims. The measure must still be passed by the House.