UCI Hospital Faces Deficit of $9 Million, Regents Told

Because of an overload of poor patients in the county, the UCI Medical Center is headed for at least a $9-million deficit this year, the UC Board of Regents was told Thursday.

The regents, who govern all nine campuses in the University of California system, heard the gloomy fiscal report during their meeting at UC Irvine.

UCI Chancellor Jack W. Peltason told the regents that he thinks that UCI is getting “more than its fair share” of the county’s poor. He said he wished that there could be better enforcement of state laws forbidding “dumping” of poor patients. (“Dumping” is a term that usually refers to a hospital that refuses to treat poor people, thus forcing them to go to another hospital.)

In a later interview, Peltason said he is not charging that any specific hospital in Orange County is guilty of “dumping.” “There are situations where there is a redirecting of non-urgent patients; they are encouraged in our direction. We have actually seen bits of paper (carried by poor patients) that have our address and phone number,” Peltason said.

“We are looking to see what we can do to ensure that the load is more equitably shared.”

Several regents said during Thursday’s meeting that they are not surprised that UCI Medical Center is again moving into red ink. The hospital, in Orange, lost $8.6 million last year, mainly because of an overflow of poor patients. The regents had been warned last fiscal year, which ended June 30, that the loss situation at the medical center probablywould continue.

During a committee meeting Thursday morning, the regents were told that the medical center is headed for a $9-million shortfall by next June 30--at least $400,000 more than the previous fiscal

year.

UCI Medical Center also lost $9.6 million in the 1985-86 fiscal year. A special allotment from the Legislature helped to cover that deficit.

The regents were told that another special state allotment bailed out the medical center from its $8.6-million deficit last year. The Legislature appropriated $8 million last year to help anticipated deficits at three university medical centers--UCI, UC Davis and UC San Diego. Since the Davis and San Diego centers finished the year with a profit, however, all of the special allotment went to pay off UCI’s deficit, the regents were told.

Regent Leo S. Kolligian of Fresno said the basic problem for UCI Medical Center is that it is not getting enough privately insured patients along with the poor.

“We’re not getting the proper mix,” Kolligian said. “I don’t know how you can solve the problem other than getting rid of the poor, and you can’t do that.”

Deborah Ruth Thorpe, a UC Davis student who is serving a 1-year term as a student regent, told the meeting that the UC system cannot turn its back on the needs of the poor. “We are committed to service,” she said.

But in response, Cornelius Hopper, a UC system vice president, said that no hospital “can long survive” if it has an excess of poor patients unable to pay the costs of their care.

“We want to take our fair share,” Peltason interjected, “but we do not think it is appropriate for a university hospital to take more than its fair share.”

UC takes the first step toward 3 new campuses. Part I, Page 3.