Carl Dodd

Text version of Carl Dodd's keynote remarks

My name is Carl Dodd, and I am a Patient Account Counselor at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin.
When I started with St. Mary's 27 years ago, I was a bill collector.  In those days, we leaned more towards collections than charity. But the program we have in place today focuses on charity. Its guidelines make it very fair, and it helps a lot more people than we were able to even 10 years ago. It’s the model for our community.

As a representative of St. Mary's charity care program, I help patients and their families after they have received care from our hospital. When they are recovering, they are sometimes overwhelmed by their health care costs. This can be as traumatic as the hospital stay. 

At St. Mary's, we help not only people who are uninsured and underinsured, but also patients with large deductibles and co-pays.  Our program can help in several ways.  Sometimes we are able to eliminate the bill entirely.  We can also offer discounts ranging from 20% to 80% of the cost of the hospital stay.  Some people who may feel they would not qualify for assistance are pleased when they learn we can help them, even if it's in a small way.  We also look at catastrophic medical costs that can't be paid in four years.

One particular story comes to mind. A 52 year old man who owned his own construction business died at St. Mary's Hospital. His wife not only had to deal with his death, but with the loss of his construction business – which was her livelihood, as well – along with a mortgage she could no longer afford, her husband’s burial expenses, and hospital bills totaling more than $100,000.00. 

It was sad and humbling to hear this woman’s story.  She was distraught, confused and scared. It was one of the few times I shared tears and hugs with a person I was helping.

We were able to write off the entire hospital bill. I also contacted the other entities that had provided care for the husband, and explained her situation. They all agreed to write off her bills. I didn’t have to contact them, but I have a good relationship with them, and I felt I would relieve the woman from going through this time and time again. She already had enough to deal with without having to do that.

This is only one case of the 1456 applications we dealt with last year.

I know what it’s like because I grew up in a poor family, and I saw first hand the struggles my parents went through. It was very humbling, so I can relate to the people I deal with on a first hand basis. I understand where they are coming from and what they are going through.

I look at the positives.  To know that you have made someone’s life a little easier makes it all worth it.