Emergency Health Care - By Bill Quinlan

            Part-time residents in Southern Dunes sometimes ask “What if I have a health emergency?  What if I can’t pay for it?”  Some are foreign nationals, including Brits whose national health system back home won’t pay if they get sick here.
            The Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center is minutes away, about four miles north of Southern Dunes on U.S. 27.  Its telephone number is (863) 422-4971.
            “We don’t discriminate on the basis of citizenship or national origin.  We give everyone the same level of care and compassion,” says Heart of Florida’s Chief Executive Officer Jay Finnegan.
            Finnegan says the hospital must, under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, stabilize anyone who presents him or herself at its emergency room.  He says it’s up to the treating physician to decide when a patient is stabilized.
            But what does emergency care cost?  What if one needs hospitalization, or outpatient care?
            One emergency room visit can easily run a thousand dollars, often much more.  “Most of our (foreign) ER patients have travel insurance,” says Finnegan.
            A part-time resident who hails from England puts it more bluntly.  “You’re a fool if you don’t buy travel insurance.” Such insurance, sometimes called “holiday insurance” is available from one’s bank.  Because he has good credit, this man pays a premium of about $20 a month while in the States.  It buys him not only the insurance but other perks as well.    It is good for twelve months, provided no one trip exceeds three months.  He adds that it is illegal for British citizens to travel abroad without such insurance.              But, even so, there’s a catch.  Such insurance typically doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions.  Plus, one should read the fine print.  For example, there may be a total dollar limit on coverage.
            Finnegan acknowledges that emergency room health care is not “cost-effective”.  He adds that many who present themselves at emergency rooms aren’t suffering from “acute events.
           Finnegan suggests that many would be better served at Urgent Care Cypress.  Urgent Care, an arm of the Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center, is at 7375 Cypress Gardens Boulevard in Winter Haven, telephone (863) 325-8185.  Hours are 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10:a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturdays, and noon until 4:00 p.m. Sundays.  Urgent Care provides three levels of examinations.  Basic, that is a simple examination by a physician, is $85.  Intermediate, which involves one special procedure, is $145.  Comprehensive, which involves additional special procedures, is $225.
           Heart of Florida will do no more than stabilize emergency patients who do not have insurance, unless they make a substantial down payment.  Moreover, the hospital works with few if any health insurance companies outside the United States.  “Insurers in Canada and England, for example, will not reimburse us,” Finnegan says.  He adds that the hospital will provide in-patient services discounted at 62 percent.  The size of the required down payment varies.
           Heart of Florida maintains a list of local physicians.  However, it keeps no information on which physicians accept patients without insurance, walk-ins or seasonal residents.  The hospital maintains a “Physician Referral Line” during normal business hours.  The phone number is (863) 419-2341.         

Correction:  The deadline for removing recycling and trash containers from curbside is midnight on pick-up days.  The time was incorrectly reported in the Winter Edition of The Southern Dunes Sun.  The Sun regrets the error.