 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 January Hospital expansion thrives despite slow economy Although the state faces a colossal shortage of money for basic health care services, Oregon’s hospitals have been spending money at a steady clip on major expansion and renovation projects — in many cases to remain competitive. Oregon Health Forum took a comprehensive look at expansion projects by Oregon’s hospitals from 1999 through 2002 — gathering information on every project exceeding $250,000. Our research found that 45 hospitals in the state spent approximately 61 percent of their operating income on such projects — representing a total of $386 million on new patient towers, emergency room remodels, MRI facilities, oncology centers, birthing center expansions, cathether lab remodeling, cardiac intensive care units and other upgrades. While every effort was made by Oregon Health Forum to obtain complete information, some projects could have slipped under the radar screen because state officials do not monitor hospital expansion projects. E-board warns hospitals of emergency room surge The Human Services Subcommittee of the Emergency Board didn’t notice the elephant in the room. Despite a protest of nearly a thousand people in front of the State Capitol, a line of mental health directors hoping to testify, and a letter from the Oregon Health Action Campaign, legislators declined to review their controversial decision when they met Jan. 9. In November, that subcommittee cut mental health, chemical dependency, adult dental and durable medical equipment for single adults and couples without children on the Oregon Health Plan, and, at the same time, restored hospital reimbursement cuts — without allowing any public testimony. When asked why her subcommittee didn’t reconsider those cuts, Chair Rep. Jackie Winters (R-Salem) said, “There aren’t the dollars to do it. It’s all budget driven.” However, Sen. Lenn Hannon (R–Ashland) lashed out at Bruce Bishop, a lobbyist with the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems at the E-Board’s Jan. 10 meeting. “Since we held their position harmless at the Nov. 8 E-Board, I want the Oregon hospital association to know and understand that when these drug and alcohol dependent…Oregon Health Plan recipients start showing up at the emergency room, I don’t expect Bishop to dart to my door and ask for more money to absorb the workload that’s pushing over to the hospitals.” Bulk buying: The sequel While a lot of battle-worn faces packed their bags to leave Salem, one old idea prepared for a grand re-entrance. Bulk purchasing of prescription drugs will return for another swing around the ballroom after three unsuccessful bills in the 2001 legislature failed to give the Department of Administrative Services such authority. “In this legislative session, issues that save money are going to be pretty popular,” said Alan Tressider, who’s lobbying on behalf of Oregonians for Health Security for the legislation. Diabetes eye task force Hindsight’s no longer the key to perfect vision. For that credit the foresight of two Oregon organizations that raised the percentage of diabetics receiving eye exams to 77 percent — 8 percent above the national average. The Oregon Optometric Physicians Association and the Oregon Medical Peer Review Organization began the collaboration in 1999. Cover the uninsured After a two year decline, the number of Americans who lack health insurance rose again last year. Cover the Uninsured Week, a week-long series of national and local events, hopes to draw attention to the 42.6 million people in the United States without health insurance. In Oregon, over 443,000 people lack health insurance, including 117,500 children. “We’re not advocating any particular solution,” said organizer Barbara Smith Warner. “We just want to provide a series of forums in which groups can work together to lower the number of uninsured.” Legacy loses lawsuit Advocates against physician peer review enjoy a level of scepticism normally reserved for conspiracy theorists who believe Neil Armstrong’s moon walk was filmed in a Hollywood basement. They argue, to anyone who’ll listen, that doctor’s careers are unfairly destroyed everyday by greedy hospital administrators and backbiting medical staffs. Armed with the power to eliminate a physician in the name of patient safety, fellow physicians pressure administrators to fire doctors that work for less and then hide behind the protective cloak of peer review. The physician’s name is then reported to a national data bank, resulting in a black eye that makes it nearly impossible for the doctor to find work at any other hospital. The status quo is preserved, and a physician is lost. Talking with Health Council's Alan Yordy As the 2003 legislative session gets underway, the Oregon Health Council, an eclectic group of health policy experts, is struggling to define its role. Typically the council advises legislators and the governor on health policy, but as money is in short supply so too are the state's options. Council Chair Alan Yordy, also the CEO of Sacred Heart Hospital, recently sat down with Oregon Health Forum Associate Editor Rory Carroll. OHF: Is the Oregon Health Council relevant? AY: The council has had varying levels of relevancy during its life under Gov. Kitzhaber. The council was effective with respect to the waivers. We faced a situation last spring where there was a real potential the state and the policy makers could come to a deadlock. The council — with its diversity of opinions — played a role in working with the governor’s representative and legislative representatives to find common ground. We couldn’t let what we’d done fall apart, and at the end of the day, the key decision makers got together. Now we've got the waivers. Hennrich's exit When CareOregon’s CEO, Mary Lou Hennrich, called her staff together recently, it expected the worse. Rumors of layoffs had been circulating, and a haze of uneasiness clouded the offices. The staff was relieved to hear its jobs were safe. Hers, however, was not. The board’s decision to dismiss Hennrich, a move described as “heartbreaking” by Ruby Haughton, director of legislative and public affairs, comes as the company she helped found is posting its worst financial numbers. At the end of the third quarter, CareOregon had a net income loss of $3.8 million, and its net worth was a negative $14.6 million, down nearly $4 million from the previous quarter. Hennrich spent nine years at the helm of the state’s largest Oregon Health Plan managed care company. Although the company’s founder was the first casualty of tough economic times, she isn’t likely to be the last. Since her departure, the company has fired five people in its claims department, insisting their work was being duplicated by CareOregon’s third party administrator. What's up Washington Health care reform once again will take center stage in Washington DC as Congress debates prescription drug benefits, malpractice reform, mental health parity and higher Medicare reimbursement rates for physicians. Here’s where Oregon’s delegation stands. Another casualty of 28 If Measure 28 fails, 100,000 people on the Oregon Health Plan — single adults and couples without children — might lose pharmaceutical benefits March 1. And, the managed care system coordinating their care would start crumbling. “We’ve told Jean Thorne,(administrator of the Department of Human Services) there’s absolutely no way we could manage health care on a risk basis without pharmaceuticals,” said Jeff Heatherington, CEO of FamilyCare who chairs the Coalition for a Healthy Oregon formed by the Oregon Health Plan contractors. Also in this issue...
|
|
 |
