Florida's Trauma Toll

Tampa Bay Times INSULT TO INJURY: Florida's Trauma Toll DEPENDING ON where paramedics take you, the charge just to enter could be as much as PICTURE THIS: $33.000.00 You're in a terrible car crash. Without the best medical care – and fast Every x-ray, every drug, every surgery is extra. - you may not survive. The ambulance speeds you to the closest trauma center, + THIS "trauma response fee" is charged so often, since 2010, the total tally has hit a specialty hospital facility where an entire $500 MILLION team waits to save your life. 404 IT KEEPS ON GROWING. Average trauma response fees quadrupled since 2006 PA $10,825 $12.000 8.000 6,000 $2,555 4,000 2.000 0 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 AND THOSE ARE JUST AVERAGES Hospital to hospital charges vary wildly, from around $1,000 to $33,000. The biggest fees generally are at for-profit trauma units. $1,168 Broward Health North, Deerfield Beach St. Joseph's Hospital, Tampa Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami Halifax Health Medical Center, Daytona Beach Baptist Hospital, Pensacola Broward Health Medical Center, Fort Lauderdale Holmes Regional Medical Center, Melbourne Orlando Regional Medical Center Average trauma response fees reported in 2013 from Florida's designated trauma centers Tallahassee Memorial Hospital Lee Memorial Hospital, Fort Myers Bayfront Health, St. Petersburg UF Health Jacksonville Sacred Heart Hospital, Pensacola UF Health Shands Hospital, Gainesville Lakeland Regional Medical Center Tampa General Hospital St. Mary's Medical Center, West Palm Beach Delray Medical Center Ocala Regional Medical Center $33,000 Kendall Regional Medical Center, Miami Orange Park Medical Center* Blake Medical Center, Bradenton Lawnwood Regional Medical Center, Fort Pierce Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, Hudson $5,000 $10,000 $15,000 $20,000 $25,000 $30,000 $35,000 FOR-PROFIT NOT-FOR-PROFIT AVERAGE TRAUMA RESPONSE FEE Source: Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. 2013 figures based on first 6 months. * The Orange Park Medical Center trauma unit is now closed, though the hospital remains open. Information not available for Bay Medical Center in Panama City or for Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Florida. $124,806 - WAIT, THERE'S MORE The trauma response fee just starts the cash register running. The total charges faced by trauma patients are huge – and hugely inconsistent. * $83,918 HIGHER HCA AVERAGE NON-HCA Source: Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. 2012 through first half of 2013. BUT SAVING LIVES COSTS A LOT True. But it's not only severely injured people getting socked with this trauma response fee. Meet a few patients: PATIENT #1 PATIENT #2 PATIENT #3 WOMAN, AGE 35 GIRL, AGE 17 BOY, AGE 4 TRAUMA CENTER: St. Mary's Medical Center, Palm Beach County TRAUMA CENTER: Shands Hospital, Gainesville INJURY: Back pain after car crash TRAUMA CENTER: Broward Health Medical Center, Fort Lauderdale INJURY: Burned fingers INJURY: Headache after car accident MEDICAL CARE: $1,126 MEDICAL CARE: $1,406 MEDICAL CARE: $355 TRAUMA FEE: $12,500 TRAUMA FEE: $9,835 TRAUMA FEE: $4,898 FOR THE COMPLETE TAMPA BAY TIMES INVESTIGATION INSULT TO INJURY INVOKING "TRAUMA," HOSPITALS CHARGE HUGE FEES EVEN TO PATIENTS WITH MINOR INJURIES VISIT TAMPABAY.COM/TRAUMA AVERAGE TRAUMA RESPONSE FEE