Recent announcement of a financial loss by Jersey Shore Hospital has included statements to the effect natural gas development could be a factor in causing bad debt increases that caused the loss. Comparison with other hospitals, however, suggests there may be other more important factors.

A story appeared recently in the Williamsport Sun-Gazette regarding the impact of natural gas workers without insurance on the economics of the Jersey Shore Hospital. It suggested uninsured workers employed by gas company sub-contractors were leaving the hospital with unpaid bills and had contributed to a financial loss by the institution. This could be a real problem and certainly demands more study, but there’s also evidence a nocebo effect may be in play.

A nocebo effect is, from a practical perspective, the opposite of a placebo effect. It is a negative reaction or response based only on a subject’s pessimistic belief and expectation something will produce negative consequences even though there is no basis for such belief or expectation. It is very clear Jersey Shore Hospital has experienced a big uptick in uncompensated care and bad debt. It is not clear, from the financial data alone, this trend is unusual or related to natural gas development, although the hospital administration may well have other data supporting its explanation. It’s also possible there are a variety of factors and natural gas is just the easiest one on which to blame things due to preconceived ideas and perceptions.

Financial data for 10 rural hospitals, five each in areas with and without significant Marcellus Shale development activity, indicate rising bad debts are common to both and Jersey Shore Hospital’s experience cannot automatically be assumed to relate to natural gas development, although it could be a factor, just as any new construction or development activity might be.

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