Loretto Hospital faces financial challenges as shutdown continues

CHICAGO — As the government shut down continues into its 15th day, the question remains if hospitals could be affected.

Loretto Hospital officials say they are already facing challenges.

The non-for-profit hospital has no money on reserve, so when unexpected expenses hit them — they are forced to fill the gap.

“It’s all about the funding. How do we fill in the day-to-day funding gaps to operate as a safety net organization based on our reinbursement rates? That’s the day-to-day with us. We already operate lean, so when something unexpected like a generator breaks, it really has us going back to the table and trying to reimagine how we come up with the dollars to fill up that gap,” said Tesa Anewishki, CEO of Loretto Hospital.

The hospital’s CEO and other officials gave Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi a tour of the hospital on Wednesday. He’s also running for an open U.S. Senate seat.

Loretto currently serves a high Medicaid population. If Medicaid is cut, people are forced to pay out of pocket — and many can’t afford to.

The hospital is working to open a medical detoxification center for patients, but it takes funding to get it done.

They will need more staff to run the center.

Krishnamoorthi chimed in about the government shutdown and what he hopes will happen.

“We Democrats are basically asking the president to make just one concession, and that is take this Obamacare tax credit issue off the table, extend those tax credits — especially as we’re approaching the holiday season — and lets move on, as opposed to allowing this issue to fester,” Congressman Krishnamoorthi said.

The CEO is hoping for more commerical pay, which will allow them to add specialty services.