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Deposit ensures quality care for everyone

by Cindy Abole
Public Relations

In an effort to provide continuous quality medical services to Lowcountry residents, MUSC has unveiled a plan which will require uninsured patients to pay a $20 deposit at the time of their routine outpatient medical visits.

Beginning Aug. 1, uninsured patients visiting MUSC for a scheduled outpatient appointment will be required to pay $20 as a deposit towards their total bill for medical services. This initiative was offered as a solution to help offset operating costs like rent, utilities, medical supplies and staff services. Under the plan, physicians will continue to provide their services for free.

The $20 deposit is not a new fee, it is simply the up-front collection of a portion of existing hospital charges.

Under the new plan, all uninsured patients will be required to pay the $20 deposit at the time of service. Patients will still be responsible for the remainder of their bill unless prior arrangements have been made with each clinic's financial services department. In order to qualify for discounts on their medical bills, patients must be evaluated by a financial counselor every six months. Discounts are scalable and based upon family size and income. 

“It's all about ensuring quality medical care for our patients and quality education for our students,” said Mark Lyles, Dean's Office, College of Medicine and a McClennan/Banks Ambulatory Care Center staff physician working on the plan. “In order for both of these things to work, you need available dollars.”

It's a move that follows other area health care clinics including Franklin C. Fetter and the Sea Island Clinic in John's Island. Today, hospitals and health care facilities everywhere are feeling the pinch caused by lower payments made from managed care companies and Medicare cuts from the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.

The deposit plan will affect patients throughout MUSC's system. About 50 percent of the patients at McClellan/Banks are on a medical discount program. “The $20 deposit is something that will be expected at the time of each appointment,” Lyles said. “Although the deposit will be requested in the Children's Hospital, it will not be required.”

Presently, MUSC receives disproportionate share funds to help provide care for patients who cannot or do not pay their medical bills in full. However, at the same time that disproportionate share has fallen, MUSC's unreimbursed hospital charges have climbed steadily from $25 million to more than $50 million. As these charges continue to rise, governmental support has fallen leaving many medical centers struggling for survival. 

“We needed to explore measures that would help increase our clinical revenue and cut costs without affecting the quality of medical care that is given to all of our patients,” Lyles said. “To accomplish this, we must now ask our patients to pay a small portion of what is their actual true costs of medical care to help ensure that we have sufficient facilities, supplies and trained staff to deliver quality medical care.”

For more information about the new deposit plan
contact Lyles at 792-2081.