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 May QualMed Oregon could have a new owner QualMed Oregon may be for sale once again. Foundation Health System, Inc., which bought the health plan eight months ago, is entertaining serious offers. A decision could be announced in late May, said Chris Palmedo, QualMed spokesman. QualMed has about 160,000 members. SUMMARY: Foundation did not want to reveal names, but the strong rumor is that UNITED healthcare is the top candidate to buy QualMed. This could be the third round of buy-out negotiations since June 1996, when PACC executives terminated negotiations with HealthSource, Inc. When FHS purchased PACC in October 1997, the $58 million sales price was turned over to the Northwest Health Foundation because of PACC's non-profit status. Any sale or merger would have to get the approval of the Oregon insurance commissioner. Physicians challenge Salem Hospital's trauma status The trauma surgeons at Salem Hospital are questioning the appropriateness of its level II trauma designation. Following a proposal submitted by the hospital last summer, the Health Division sent out a survey team and determined that Salem Hospital should make the move from level III to level II. With that information in hand, Salem Hospital requested a change in its trauma status, said Lisa Irwin, RN, staff liaison to the State Trauma Advisory Board. A level II trauma center must respond to emergencies within 15 minutes, rather than 30, and have the capability of treating multi-injured patients. Salem's medical staff is concerned that the hospital, already overwhelmed at times, will not be able to handle the additional demands brought on by the new designation. State regulators would like to have a level II trauma center in the Salem area, but Salem Hospital executives have asked for the decision to be reviewed again. Managed care stifles Columbia County The weight of managed care is pulling down Columbia County's Mental Health Department. Columbia started feeling the pinch after GOBHI and Ceres Behavioral Healthcare Systems (owned by Green Spring) assumed the mental health contracts last year. Before GOBHI and CERES showed up, Columbia County had about $1.7 million a year for mental health services. Now, that sum has been cut by almost half. The county has made deep cuts in its budget but still faces a deficit of $327,000. County leaders are looking to the state for help. Oregon hospitals average $3.2 million in profits AS managed care squeezes the health care dollar ever tighter, doctors, insurance companies and hospitals have taken turns complaining. But as shown in Oregon Health Forum's exhaustive new report, "The Finances and Services of Oregon Hospitals, 1994-1997," most hospitals in the state would be guilty of crying wolf. By comparing the three most-recent fiscal years for each hospital, OHF determined that the average three-year profits were $9.5 million for Oregon hospitals. As average profits grew 72% from 1994 to 1997, charity care at the hospitals lagged far behind in most cases. This 224-page report details what the hospitals earned and spent, how many patients they saw, what kinds of procedures they did and how much money they paid their executives. It is the most complete accounting ever of the operations of Oregon hospitals, and the information in the report will prove invaluable to anyone who's interested in health care in Oregon. For more information, see the Special Reports section. Other headlines
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