Rural South Carolina hospital says inflation, insurance reimbursement rates threaten operations

by Stephanie Adkisson

HAMPTON COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) -Hampton Regional Medical Center, a rural hospital serving about 40,000 people, says rising costs and stalled insurance reimbursement rates are straining its budget.

Hospital CEO Dave Hamill said the hospital has seen a nearly 40% increase in hard-dollar operating costs between a 2020 audit and 2025.

“There’s no area that hasn’t increased significantly,” Hamill said.

Rising costs for supplies and medicine

Hamill said medical supplies, pharmaceuticals and equipment prices have all gone up. He said the hospital lacks the buying power of larger health systems to purchase some treatments.

“We don’t have the buying power to buy some of the, some of these chemo’s are, make your head spin when you see how much they cost,” Hamill said.

Hampton Regional Medical Center operates a chemotherapy infusion center. Hamill said some patients will have to go elsewhere because the hospital cannot afford to buy certain chemotherapy drugs.

Insurance reimbursement rates

Hamill said the hospital is negotiating with several major insurance companies including United Healthcare.

He said United Healthcare has not increased the hospital’s reimbursement rate since 2017. The hospital’s contract with United Healthcare expired in May 2025. Hamill said the hospital initiated negotiations in December 2024, but said United Healthcare did not participate at that time. He said negotiations are ongoing, but the last time the two sides spoke, United Healthcare only offered a 4% increase.

“They’re just not willing to increase our reimbursement,” Hamill said. “We haven’t had an increase in reimbursement from United Healthcare since 2017.”

Hamill said a fair reimbursement payment for the hospital would not significantly affect insurers’ budgets.

“What they pay us in a year isn’t even a variable in their budget,” Hamill said. “It wouldn’t even, if they double or tripled it or quadrupled it, it wouldn’t even show up in their budget.”

Hamill said the hospital, as a small, independent facility, has limited leverage in negotiations compared with larger health systems.

“They make life very difficult,” Hamill said. “And we have no leverage. We’re a small, independent hospital. We’re not like some of the big health systems that can put their foot down and say, all right, we’ll just go without your business, cuz we can’t. And they know that.”

WTOC News reached out to United Healthcare about the negotiations and has not heard back.

Impact on the community

Hampton Regional Medical Center is an independent, not-for-profit hospital affiliated with MUSC. Hamill said the hospital reinvests everything it earns back into healthcare.

Hamill said the hospital has not yet reached the point of affecting patient costs, but said continued disputes with insurers could eventually require the hospital to leave certain networks, which could affect patients covered by those insurance plans.

“That’s a lot of people that need care,” Hamill said. “It’s hard to do when places like United Healthcare, Blue Cross, and some of the others don’t feel like they should reimburse you at an appropriate level.”

He said many of the hospital’s patients, including elderly residents, do not have the means to seek care elsewhere. He says the next-closest hospitals are nearly 45 minutes to an hour away.

“A lot of people that don’t have the means to go anywhere else,” Hamill said. “So, our services are critical to this geographic area and the communities we serve.”