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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowOver the last four decades, residents of Hamilton County have amassed a wealth of options for hospital care. The county is already home to 11 acute-care and specialty hospitals with a total of nearly 800 beds—while many Indiana counties have no hospitals, or a single facility with less than 50 beds.
Some consumer advocates say the hospital systems are chasing business in the suburbs, where household income is high and residents have generous health insurance packages, while curtailing or closing hospital services in less prosperous, more rural parts of Indiana. Several of the health systems say they are simply following the market and providing health care where the population is growing the fastest.
The latest entry into the Hamilton County market was announced this month: Community Health Network says it’s planning to open a $335 million campus in Westfield, which would make it Community’s first hospital facility in Hamilton County. As the guest on this week’s edition of the podcast, IBJ health care reporter John Russell is using this opportunity to take stock of the county’s hospital marketplace, what’s behind the boom, and to ask what’s prompting this additional growth.
Click here to find the IBJ Podcast each Monday. You can also subscribe at iTunes, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify and anyplace you find podcasts.
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Looking for another podcast to try? Check out IBJ’s The Freedom Forum with Angela B. Freeman, a monthly discussion about diversity and inclusion in central Indiana’s business community.
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Because HamCo is growing & most Indiana counties are not.
It’s that simple.
Because everyone is insured in Hamilton County. Less need for indigent care
Follow the money.