Why so many hospitals closed in NJ?

The state's hospitals face numerous external challenges. The growth of managed care enrollment, reduction in Federal Medicare inpatient and outpatient reimbursement, changes in Medicaid reimbursement, and a large uninsured population are all contributing to the decline in financial performance and are likely to persist into the next decade. Advances in technology and pharmaceuticals allow for more outpatient and non-hospital-based treatments, contributing to the downward pressure on utilization. Lack of alignment between physician and hospital payment incentives makes changing physician practice patterns difficult.

Additionally, internal factors hamper needed change. These include:

• slower than needed reductions in length of stay, particularly for Medicare patients;
• persistent excess and misdirected hospital capacity;
• higher staffing levels than hospitals in other states;
• lack of alignment between physician and hospital payment incentives, making changes in physician practice patterns difficult to implement;
• board ambivalence about transitioning a hospital's services or closing facilities to appropriately meet the community's needs while ensuring adequate reimbursement to cover costs; and
• inadequate education of the general public about changes in health care delivery and reimbursement.

Together these factors have contributed to higher operating costs at New Jersey hospitals when compared to their counterparts nationwide

Hospitals are cornerstones of their communities. They provide healthcare and jobs, security and peace of mind. From community clinics to the maternity ward, from the operating room to the emergency department, it's hard to imagine your community without its local hospital. Unfortunately, more and more New Jersey towns are forced to live without the comforting presence of a community hospital. Consider these sobering statistics:

• 21 New Jersey hospitals have closed since 1992
• Five hospitals have filed for bankruptcy in the past 18 months.
• Just 15 years ago, New Jersey had 112 acute care hospitals. Only 77 remain today.
• Of those 77, half lost money in 2007.

A combination of pressures has brought New Jersey's healthcare system to this critical condition. The leading factor is inadequate funding from state and federal government. New Jersey hospitals provide care to everyone who needs it, regardless of the patient's ability to pay. That's part of a hospital's caring mission, but it's also state law. In return for this "charity care," the state is supposed to reimburse hospitals for caring for these uninsured patients. But year after year that reimbursement falls short. Last year N.J. hospitals provided $1.3 billion in charity care services to patients, but received just $716 million in reimbursement from the state. In the last 15 years combined New Jersey hospitals have absorbed a staggering $6 billion in losses due to charity care underfunding. That, compounded by poor payments from other government programs like Medicare and Medicaid, has brought our state's hospitals to the current fiscal crisis. 2008 is an important year for stemming the tide of hospital closures in New Jersey. New Jersey hospitals need adequate state reimbursement that will allow them to keep their doors open and serving patients. Preserving charity care funding in the state's next budget is a critical first step. Click on the links below to learn more about the crisis confronting our state's hospitals, and learn what you can do to help preserve access to hospital care.

Click here to view our video. (.wmv file, 40 seconds). Click here to learn more on our budget advocacy page.

I also read that Mountainside Has closed too.

With all these hospitals closed I dont evern want to imagine the census at Saint Barnabas or UMDNJ University Hospital