The migrant crisis in Denver has plunged the city’s main public hospital deep into the red after patients received $136 million in treatment they couldn’t pay for.
Denver Health lost $2 million in 2022 – but that was substantially-reduced by a $20 million cash injection from the state.
In 2022, the hospital system lost $35 million, with bosses warning of ‘dire consequences’ for the hospital if 2024 is as bad as the previous two.
The rise in costs has coincided with the unprecedented number of immigrants who crossed America’s border and arrived in Denver. Around 36,000 have arrived so far – many of them bused from Texas – with 18,000 deciding to stay.
Dr. Taylor McCormick, associate director of Pediatrics Emergency Medicine at Denver Health, The Denver Gazette: ‘Overall, these patients don’t have medical insurance. Denver Health is eating the cost for many of these visits.’
CEO Donna Lynne told the City Council last week that the hospital had provided $136 million in care that it didn’t receive compensation for.
Denver Health ended 2022 with a loss of $35 million, and the most recent year would have been worse had it not been for a $20 million cash injection from the state
The rise in costs has coincided with the unprecedented number of immigrants who crossed America’s border and arrived in Denver
That $136 million figure includes care to people covered by Medicaid, and $100 million of the unpaid bills were run up by Denver residents, not migrants.
Further clarification on how much was spent treating migrant patients who were unable to pay has not yet been shared.
Lynne said: ‘What I think is not being said is that Denver Health is at a critical, critical point, and that we need to take this up in 2024.
‘Because our costs exceed our revenues, we are turning down patients every day, particularly in the area of mental health and substance abuse.
‘While I have tremendous compassion for what’s going on, it’s heartbreaking, it’s going to break Denver Health.’
While the hospital is still to calculate their final numbers for 2023, executives have said they will require more support to continue operating as it has been.
Dr. Steve Federico, chief of government and community affairs, told the Greeley Tribune: ‘If we were to have another year like (2022), it would have dire consequences.’
Lynne said that 8,000 migrants who came to the city from Central America made around 20,000 visits to the health system.
These included trips for dental emergencies, mental health counseling and childbirth.
The city has estimated that over 36,000 migrants arrived in the city since December 2022.
Venezuelan migrants wait in line for food from a food truck at a migrant processing center on May 9, 2023, in Denver, Colorado
The city has estimated that over 36,000 migrants arrived in the city since December 2022
State Rep. Judy Amabile has sponsored a bill in the statehouse which would commit Colorado to financially support Denver Health each year with $5 million.
It comes as Denver’s mayor Mike Johnston said he will call on Congress to take action to support the city in receiving migrants.
Mayor Johnston said migrant aid could cost the city $180 million this year and has asked departments to cut their budgets some 15 percent to pay for it.
As of Wednesday, 4,400 migrants were in Denver-run shelters across the city.
Mayor Johnson, Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and Representatives Jason Crow and Brittany Pettersen will hold a press conference on Thursday.