Since the launch of EyeOnBI.org, the Board and Administration of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center appear to have changed their practices in response to several of the concerns raised on EyeonBI.org. We applaud them for taking our concerns seriously and taking corrective action on the following issues:
Improved Charity Care Disclosure Language
In July 2007, 1199SEIU raised concerns that the charity care figures disclosed in Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s (BIDMC) 2005 audited financial statements may have included as much as $11 million in bad debt. The inclusion of bad debt losses in charity care figures is potentially misleading -- BIDMC’s actual charity care levels may have been 16% lower than reported
In February 2008, EyeOnBI.org raised the issue again with BI Board members who also sit on the boards of public companies regulated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which sets standards for publicly held companies.
In January 2009, BIDMC revised its charity care language in its 2008 Audited Financial Statements to clearly reflect inclusion of “emergent services provided to non-paying patients”—in other words, emergency bad debt—in the net cost of charity care.
Returned $569,000 Overpayment to Medicare
In October 2007, 1199SEIU discovered that BIDMC Needham had overcharged Medicare for a cancer drug, and notified the hospital’s Board of Directors, as part of its mission to ensure affordable, comprehensive access to safe, high quality health care for all MA residents..
Shortly after receiving our letter to the Board of Directors, the sum was repaid.
BI Overseer with Ties to Bernard Madoff Resigned
In February 2009, 1199SEIU asked the BIDMC Board to investigate Robert Jaffe, a BI Overseer who worked for disgraced financier Bernard Madoff.
After 1199SEIU raised concerns about Jaffe’s ties to Madoff potentially interfering with his ability to serve as an overseer, he resigned from the Board of Overseers in March of 2009. Jaffe has since been charged with securities fraud.
Dropped Late Night ER Fee
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and five other Massachusetts hospitals ended the practice of charging "late-night" emergency room fees after EyeonBI.org launched a public awareness campaign to draw attention to the practice.
