THE BLAZE
Denver Health, the largest “safety net” hospital in Colorado, is nearing a crisis after rising numbers of illegal immigrants and homeless people are racking up hefty health care bills that they have little or no ability to pay.
Since President Joe Biden took office and the southern border has been overrun with immigrants from all over the world, the cost of unpaid care at Denver Health has risen dramatically. In 2020, the hospital had about $60 million in unpaid care. By 2022, that number more than doubled to $125 million and then jumped another $11 million last year, bringing the total amount of unpaid care at Denver Health in 2023 to a whopping $136 million.
Those numbers coincide with the significant rise in illegal immigrants entering the city in the last few years. According to Dr. Steven Federico, the chief government and community affairs officer for Denver Health, the hospital treated 8,000 new patients from South and Central America in the last year, and those patients alone accounted for 20,000 hospital visits.
“It’s not surprising when they get to Denver that there’s severe and acute health care needs,” Federico said.
Some of those “severe and acute health care needs” included dental emergencies, mental health counseling, and childbirth, Denver Health CEO Donna Lynne told the Denver City Council’s finance and government committee earlier this month. “While I have tremendous compassion for what’s going on, it’s heartbreaking, it’s going to break Denver Health,” she explained.
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The hospital has contacted FEMA for more federal assistance with the cost of caring for illegal immigrants.
Colorado likewise offers OmniSalud, a state-funded program that directs “undocumented Coloradans and DACA recipients” to individual health insurance plans that are often provided by an employer. “This plan is designed to improve access, affordability, and racial health equity for consumers purchasing health insurance in individual and small-group markets,” the website says (emphasis not added).
While many are pointing to illegal immigrants as the main cause of the hospital’s shortfall, other uninsured patients have contributed to the problem as well. Federico also mentioned the growing population of “unhoused” persons, who often need mental health care…
