Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-01-30
Chest 10 Await
District Action
On Hospitals
Decision Expected
This Week on Care
Of Needy Patients
By George Beveridqe

~ SSotSS 0SFSItu0S
The Community Chest Fedora ton
will Withhold decision on how much
money to set aside to pay II WASH
ington hospitals for treating needy
patients during 1949 until 1t finds
out how much responsibility the
District intends to accept, it was
learned last night.
The Commissioners are expected
to act this week on corporation
counsel's ruling which would permit
the Health Department to increase
the number Of INDECENT patients who
can be treated by private hospitals
at District expense.
The question in the minds of
Chest officials, it was reported, is the
extent to which this new program
might allow the District to take over
some patients whose hospital bills
now are paid partly by Chest funds.
Persons are eligible for Chest aid
If they do not enter hospitals as
patients of private doctors and if
they are unable to pay all their
hospital bills They are not eligible
If they fall within the ow-income
residency standards set up by the
Distr - determine indigency.
Only $4,000 Earmarked.
Officials SAID, in view of failure
of the recent chest drive to reach
its goal, they could not estimate yet
how close its disqualification fund
would approach the $850,OO recon-
mended last fall by the Federation
Budget Committee. But they re-
vealed that the funds marked spe-
officially for hospitals by contrib
utors totaled only about $4,000
less than S per cent of the amount
collected.
OF primary importance to hospi-
tai officials is how long the size of
the disqualification fund will per-
init them to be paid at the rate of
$11 for each patient-day of treat
ment.
Last year, they pointed out, the
Chest had agreed to pay hospitals
$3.50 day for adult patients desig-
mated by the Chest. but the funds
ran out. The Hospital Service
Agency, which certifies that patients
are eligible for Chest aid, said the
lack of funds dropped payments to
hospitals to IS per cent of the
agreed amount during November.
and to an average of 81 per cent
during. the first II months of last
year. -.
District Pays 50 a. Day. - B.
AT present, the District%pays nine
Washington hospitals up to 50 aday
for treating patients who are
emergency cases and who have
lived in the District for, at least
a year.. But &c will approve pay
ment only for patients, within d
rigid income limit, who can pay
nothing toward their hospital bills
The corporation counsels decision
advises the Commissioners that
such patients need not be destitute
to be considered INDECENT. Under
the ruling, the District could in
crease the income limits and COL
lect from eligible patients the part
OF their bills they can afford to
pay.
Commissioner Guy Mason said he
would present the ruling at 1.-THE
earliest possible time" to the Board
OF Commissioners for action. The
board is scheduled to meet Tues
day.
Income Scale Next Step.
If the board decides to liberalize
the policies, the next step would be
for budget and health officials to
draw up an income eligibility scale.
Such a scale already has been rec
commended by the Health Depart
ment.
At the same time, records showed
that the Health Department has
approved claims from hospitals,
from July through November, that
total only about sos 900. Congress
gave the District $69O,OO0 to finance
the program for the year beginning
last July.
For the flve-month period. Chill
dren's Hospital had the largest
amount of approved claims, $780,
1880. Columbia Hospital sub
mitted no claims, and those for the
other seven hospitals were: Emer-
gency, $47,479; Casualty, s43,369;
Episcopal, $9,946; Georgetown,
s13,723.50; Providence, $21 1886, so;
George Washington. s5,735, and
Garfield, $3,67250.
If the District policies are liberal
lied, meanwhile, the Health De-
partment's Hospital Permit Bureau
rules on eligibility of pa
tients for District financed care
faces major project in reviewing
claims from the private hospitals
which have been turned down under