Inspector general: Cook County hospitals lost roughly $165 million due to widespread errors

The Chicago Tribune reports:

The Cook County Health and Hospitals System lost an estimated $165 million or more in potential revenue over the past three years due to lax clerical procedures and employee errors, records and interviews show.

Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard attributed the hospitals’ losses to widespread issues in the system’s bureaucracy — from mistakes during patient scheduling and registration to billing lapses. In a 10-page report, Blanchard said his office interviewed hospital staffers who suggested there are “a significant number of registration clerks, coders, and billers who do not possess adequate self-motivation or the required skill sets and knowledge base” to do their jobs.

Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin, D-Oak Park, called Blanchard’s report “shocking” and said it’s important for the taxpayer-funded hospitals to recover as much money as possible.

“The reason it’s not being captured is they don’t care,” Boykin said. “They do not care. They have this culture that ‘Everything is free, it’s OK ’cause we’re county.’ ”

The Health and Hospitals System, which receives a portion of its funding through county government, lost the money during a tumultuous financial period that included the cash-strapped county’s controversial pop tax, which was passed then repealed, and massive county employee layoffs due to financial woes. The system also receives state and federal funding.

Just a reminder: the next time your friendly local statist claims the private sector has more waste and efficency than compared to government...