Wednesday, October 25, 2006      

LEE MEMORIAL PRICES INCREASED
OVER TRIPLE THE RATE OF ACTUAL EXPENSES SINCE 2001 

Charges Skyrocketed by $506 million while Actual Costs Went up $146 Million over Five-year Period; Advocacy Group to Investigate Finances of New “Lee-nopoly”  

FORT MYERS, FL—Using government data collected over a five year period, Consejo de Latinos Unidos, a national non-profit organization that educates and assists uninsured Hispanics and others, released stunning financial records that shows that Lee Memorial Health System’s charges increased over triple the rate actual costs, placing an unreal financial burden on uninsured patients. Between 2001 and 2005, LMHS’ charges rose a whopping $506 million while actual costs increased by only $146 million. 

“In 2004, Lee Memorial tried to cover up their egregious behavior with a public-relations-induced, rubber-stamping committee that said Lee Memorial’s pricing was fair,” said K.B. Forbes, Executive Director of the Consejo. “Now the truth is out: Lee Memorial is engaged in a price gouging scheme that destroys the financial well being of uninsured families in the county they serve. Lee Memorial’s outrageously high charges have no relationship whatsoever to costs.” 

Last month, Lee Memorial’s CEO Jim Nathan announced a secret buy-out of two for-profit HCA hospitals, assuring that the LMHS will virtually become a “Lee-nopoly” of healthcare in the Fort Myers area. The secret $535 million deal was quickly approved by Nathan’s Board of Directors with no scheduled public hearings or debate on the deal.  LMHS is now $700 million in debt. 

“The taxpayers of Lee County appear to have been hoodwinked. For a supposedly government controlled entity to ram through the secret deal in a matter of weeks if not days with no public hearings or studies or debate goes counter to the transparency and openness of our democratic Republic,” said Forbes. “The Consejo will work with local residents to force LMHS to open its books for a forensic accounting review. We will look at the deal in question and at any for-profit joint ventures LMHS or LMHS executives may be involved with.”

The Consejo was profiled on CBS’ 60 Minutes last March for its work against hospital abuses. The data released today was compiled by the American Hospital Directory from the U.S. Government. www.ahd.com