Evening star., 1948-11-20
Contracts on Pay
For |ndigentsG Go
To 9 Hospitals
Early Meeting Due
On Transferring Main
Functions Of FSA
By George Beveridee

Long-awaited contracts that
will allow nine Washington hos
pitals to collect thousands Of
dollars from the District gov
ernment for treating INDECENT
patients finally are. in the mail
to hospital officials, it was
learned today.
At the same time, an early meet
ing is in prospect among the hos
pitfalls, the Community Chest Fed
Grafton and the Health Security
Administration, which pays the hos
pitals with Chest funds for treating
semi -indigent patients. They plan
to discuss proposal of the hospitals
to take over the main functions Of
HSA.
Henry S. Gavens, Health Depart
ment administrative officer, dis
closed that the delayed contracts
should reach hospital administrators
today. They provide payment of So
for each day of hospital care given
to indigents and 81 for each clinic
visit.
Claims Await Signing.
The hospitals, some of which say
they need the payments desperately,
have been filing claims for payment
since July l. The claims are re-
ported to be ready for payment, but
can't be made until the contracts
are signed.
Garfield Hospital, 1t was revealed
yesterday. is limiting admission Of
such patients to strict "emer-
gencies," when the conditions of
such patients do not permit them
to be sent to unsupported GAL
linger Hospital. Officials said tho
Institution would have been un-
able to continue to take financial
losses for treating large numbers
OF such patients and still keep its
doors open for other patients.
Meanwhile, George Washington
University Hospital has limited its
number Of HSA certified patients,
according to HSA officials. Instead
OF the previous Is HAS patients car
ried on the rolls of the hospital
daily, this number now Is limited to
IL, except for dire emergencies. The
reduction was said to have been
made because of the cost of caring
for semi-indigents sent by HSA.
An official of the Hospital Coun-
Gil of the National Capital Area,
} meanwhile, said it is doubtful
whether all hospital authorities will
sign the contracts Immediately.
They are concerned, he said, about
how far the city intends to go in
defining the "indigents' for whom
it will assume responsibility.
New Order Being Drafted.
This point is expected to be
spelled out in new order by the
Commissioners, now being prepared
at the Health Department. Mr..
Gavens said he believes it will be
"at least the latter part of next
week" before it is completed.
The controversial issue of con-
tinued existence of HSA, meanwhile,
will be discussed "at an early con-
ference to review the whole situa-
tion," according to Chester Morrill,,
chairman of the federations Hos
pitaliZation Fund Committee.
Hospitals voiced their desire to
take over the functions of admis-
sion, collection and certifcation of
eligibility in a resolution disclosed
yesterday. At the same time, the
HSA board charged in a resolution
to Chest officials, that some hos
pitals already have "nullified' agree
ments by refusing to certify HSA
certif1cation of patients.
HSA no longer is sending its pa
tients to Garfield, and the hospital
is handling all requests for admis-
sion as private patients. Those who
are in need of help, however, are
routed to HSA for certiflcation.
Providence Hospital, which cares
for many patients unable to pay
their hospital bills, also is arrang-
ing its own admissions, and making
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