Because Ohio’s seven children’s hospitals attract patients from out of state, the state isn’t suffering from an overcapacity of beds, according to the top official with a state children’s hospital advocacy group.
The question of whether Ohio has too many children’s hospitals was raised by an article from Kaiser Health News, which noted that the number of beds in the hospitals has been rising at the same time the state’s population of children has been falling.
Children make up 24 percent of Ohio’s residents, down from 35 percent in 1970. Only Delaware, Rhode Island, South Dakota and the District of Columbia have more children’s hospital beds per capita than Ohio.
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While an oversupply seems like a good “problem” to have, that may not be the case. Unlike other industries, in healthcare it’s often noted that “supply creates demand,” meaning an overcapacity of hospital beds could lead to unnecessarily high costs.
But the ability of children’s hospitals in Ohio to attract out-of-state residents means that the state doesn’t have too many children’s hospital beds, said Nick Lashutka, president of the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association.
“Ohio is a pediatric healthcare destination for children across the globe,” said Lashutka, who wasn’t available for comment for the Kaiser article.
However, Lashutka said his organization doesn’t track the percentage of out-of-state patients that visit hospitals in Ohio, so it’s difficult to assess his argument. He also noted that children’s hospitals generally provide much more wide-ranging services than they did in 1970, such as behavioral healthcare and care for mental illness.
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While Lashutka’s points are well-taken, the lack of solid data means that the question of overcapacity is one that should at least be examined as stakeholders from across the Ohio healthcare spectrum ponder ways to reduce soaring health costs.
Brandon Glenn is the Ohio bureau chief for MedCity News.
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