Shriners End Free Care for All at Children’s Hospitals

By the end of the month all U.S. children’s hospitals run by the Shriners fraternal organization will be collecting payments for insured patients, ending an 89-year tradition of free care, writes The Star-Tribune of Minneapolis.

While the uninsured will still receive free treatment at the 20 Shriners facilities, patients with coverage will be billed, and some families will be charged copayments as the charity completes adoption of a policy to which members agreed in 2009.

Shriners officials said the historic change in the group’s mission is necessary to keep it financially afloat after years of buffeting by rising health-care costs, flat donations, and a steep decline in its endowment. The charity considered closing several hospitals before members agreed to start collecting payments for care.

“We’re not a poor organization. But if we don’t make wise decisions now, we won’t last,” said Doug Maxwell, chief executive of Shriners Hospitals for Children, in Tampa, Fla.