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Financing Hospital Disaster Preparedness
Title: Financing Hospital Disaster Preparedness
Date: 2007
Author: LTC Colonel Robert A. De Lorenzo,MD, FACEP
Institution: Department of Emergency Medicine and Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium
Bibliographic Entry: De Lorenzo, Robert A. “Financing Hospital Disaster Preparedness.” Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 22, no. 5 (2007): 436-439.
Electronic Link: http://pdm.medicine.wisc.edu/22-5%20PDFs/delorenzo.pdf
Key Words: disaster preparedness, financing, hospitals, preparedness, surge capacity
Summary of Key Points, Issues, Conclusions:
Within the U.S., an increase in attention has been paid to disaster preparedness and response as a result of terrorism and disaster threats. Yet, the funding of hospital preparedness, specifically surge capacity, has experienced a lag behind other types of preparedness. A limited portion of money allocated to national preparedness is spent towards health care, with hospitals receiving an even smaller portion of that. Currently, all funding from hospital preparedness is generated by tax revenues. Little of the bill comes from medical payers, and funding options include increasing current hospital federal grants, using payer fees or a tax to subsidize preparedness, and financing other types of expansion capability, like mobile hospitals. In order to achieve the highest levels of preparedness, there must be a combined commitment by the hospital industry, public and private payers, as well as federal, state, and local governments. The public will ultimately be responsible for the costs of preparedness, through taxes, increased healthcare costs, or acceptance of greater risk.
Name of Researcher: Alison Stevens
Institution: Integrative Center for Homeland Security, Texas A&M University
Date Posted: April 30, 2008