Hospital uses court to claim payments due
By SHANNON CRABTREE scrabtree@leader-news.com

El Campo Memorial Hospital has begun taking legal action against those refusing to pay their medical bills.

And the hospital plans to expand the effort to collect as much of its almost $3 million in bad debt a year as it can in Wharton County's small claims courts.

"All we're trying to do is be good stewards (of the public trust)," ECMH CEO Steve Gularte said.

The hospital filed suit on 28 outstanding accounts late last year - accounts where more than $46,000 was owed for services rendered between last year and 2004.

Those individual accounts owed between as little as $190 to as much as $7,837.

Each had already been through the hospital's full collection process - a 120-day bill followed by the efforts of two separate collection agencies.

"The main problem is that people just ignore their medical bills," Gularte said. "You can't go into a grocery store, get a basket of food and pay some day. You can't go anywhere and do that."

The bad debtors were sent letters Sept. 28, 2007 telling them they had 30 days to pay or face court action.

The actual hearings, however, weren't held until Jan. 22.

By then, $8,000 had already been paid.

On the day of the court hearing before Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 Tim Drapela, an additional four to five cases opted to pay rather than face the judicial process.

At the hearings, the judge ruled in the hospital's favor in all cases ordering a total of about $31,000 be paid.

Liens will be put on the bad debtors' real property unless payment is made and the judgment will have an effect on their credit ratings.

ECMH started with only 28 cases "to learn the process," Gularte said, adding the hospital typically has to write off about 300 bills each month.

Late this month, the hospital will likely start its second batch of filings in small claims court.

This time, ECMH is anticipating about 300 cases will be filed.

"We write off a couple of million in bad debt every year," Gularte said. "That's not just here (at ECMH). It's everywhere."

He added, "We can't continue to extend credit."

Last fiscal year which ended March 31, 2007 for ECMH, a total of $2,999,987.48 in bad debt was written off in addition to $969,209.40 in charity cases.

Bad debt accounts for 13.5 percent of all patient revenue, Gularte said.

In comparison, ECMH - through the West Wharton County Hospital District - collects about $1.14 million in tax dollars each year. Those funds are used for capital expenditures.

Those owing outstanding bills to the hospital will also be asked to make a payment when trying to utilize non-emergency or elective care such as the clinic where a request for a down payment will be likely.

"That does not include emergencies. That's life or limb," Gularte said. "There we do not ask questions. That's what we are here for."