UAMS sees fewer patients, more uninsured | News

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV & Arkansas Business) -- UAMS hopes it can rebound after a nearly $4 million loss in the first half of the fiscal year. The medical hospital is now asking the state for more money.

UAMS is paying $170 million a year for patients without insurance.

"We think people have delayed care for as long as they can, which uninsured population are forced to do," says Chancellor Dr. Dan Rahn.

Dr. Rahn says fewer patients are going to the hospital and among those who do there's a higher percentage without insurance.

"If you put two together that's enough to budget projections to negative territory," says Dr. Rahn.

Dr. Rahn says those reasons contributed to a $3.8 million loss in the first six months of the fiscal year.

"We're not surprised. We're disappointed we are taking corrective actions," says Dr. Rahn.

The hospital plans to not fill up to 70 positions, cut down on overtime, and ask the state for an extra $600,000. As to all the building still going on at UAMS, Dr. Rahn says those are from private donations and can't be used for the operating budget. He adds hospitals face this issue quite often, but UAMS is hit harder when it comes to uninsured patients.

"We see a lot of uninsured patients and we see patients with complex illnesses and if you compare our institution with academic medical centers, nationally, a large amount of our patients are uninsured," says Dr. Rahn.

Dr. Rahn says business has improved in January and he expects UAMS to break even the end of the fiscal year.