Home > Political Insider > Archives > 2008 > February > 19 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USChamber to Senate: Don’t pretend that health care in Georgia obeys the rules of the market
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Earlier today, we told you that Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams (R-Lyons) had publicly wondered why the Georgia Chamber of Commerce was opposing a private cancer hospital’s entry into the state.
Not long afterwards, the business organization put a lengthy explanation of its position on the desk of every state senator.
Said the Chamber:
“We often hear it argued that free market principles should be applied to health care. But unfortunately, health care in the U.S. does not respond to the free market, since 60 to 70 percent of reimbursements to hospitals and fees to physicians are Medicaid or Medicare…
“The Georgia Chamber of Commerce believes that, until market forces can be brought to bear in these cases, there should be no erosion of the [certificate of need] program in any area. For that reason, we oppose the efforts of Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) to obfuscate the CON process,” says the letter from Chamber president and CEO George Israel.
Read the entire letter on the jump.
February 19, 2008
Dear Senator,
At a meeting on January 14, 2008, the Board of Directors of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce overwhelmingly reaffirmed its support of the Certificate of Need (CON) program. I wanted to make you aware of the rationale that led to this decision by our Board.
Over the last four years, whenever we surveyed our members, we found healthcare costs were the number one concern of both self-insured and insured employers. Most have witnessed double-digit cost increases.
There is also a growing concern about access to quality healthcare. Many of our members were disturbed last year when they read that some local hospitals were financially at risk. We learned that as many as 90 Georgia hospitals, many of them in rural areas, were operating at a loss. The publicity surrounding Grady Hospital only serves to reinforce this concern. Our members know that only solvent hospitals can recruit and retain physicians as staff members.
Georgians also know how important hospitals are to their local economy. When healthy and thriving, they can have a significant positive impact on local communities; if for no other reason, they are quite often the largest employer in the county. They attract physicians to the area and support a wide range of ancillary vendors and suppliers.
We often hear it argued that free market principles should be applied to healthcare. But unfortunately, healthcare in the U.S. does not respond to the free market, since 60-70% of reimbursements to hospitals and fees to physicians are Medicaid or Medicare. Only 20-30% is self-pay, insured pay or from a self-insured employer’s third-party administrator. Because of reductions in government reimbursements over the past decade, employers turned to managed care to help them stabilize and reduce “cost shift.” Together, lower reimbursements and managed care have put hospitals in a very difficult position and reduced fees to physicians, resulting in a situation where hospitals are too often pitted against doctors.
Physicians want to be allowed to perform general surgical procedures in an office or clinic setting, bypassing the hospital. This would effectively deny hospitals one of the very few profitable product/service lines they have to offset the losses resulting from Medicaid, Medicare and covering the uninsured. This practice is not currently allowed under CON, which physician groups favor abolishing.
The Georgia Chamber of Commerce believes that, until market forces can be brought to bear in these cases, there should be no erosion of the CON program in any area. For that reason, we oppose the efforts of Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) to obfuscate the CON process.
We congratulate and support your efforts to close the gap in Medicaid reimbursements. If hospitals are made whole in Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements and a way can be found to insure more of our fellow citizens who are currently uninsured, we might then reach a point where true market forces can be utilized, which would be our sincere hope.
It is important to protect one of Georgia’s most critical existing industries — our hospital employers — from potential competitors that wish to change the rules in mid-stream, especially at a time when many of our community providers are at financial risk. Georgia’s existing cancer treatment facilities provide outstanding, first-class service to our state and region — in fact, to the nation — and they have invested millions and millions in the very same treatment technologies as CTCA. It is only fair and equitable that all new entrants to this area be subject to the same procedures as their predecessors.
Thank you for your leadership and friendship.
Sincerely,
George M. Israel, III
President & CEO
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Comments
By OneForTheRoad
February 19, 2008 6:50 PM | Link to this
Stupidity at its finest. The consumer can and will bring market forces to bear because we can no longer afford such archaic mentality. We will no longer be constrained by state boundaries when seeking medical care. Even other countries are now at our disposal. So, block out reality and watch your businesses go the way of Detroit. Good Luck with your limited vision. I hear you can order really cheap glasses on the Internet now.
By Jane
February 19, 2008 10:04 PM | Link to this
If the Chamber does not open up the medical care in Georgia to fair competetion, Hillary or Obama will nationalize the Health Care in this country and thier opposition to fair competetion will be mote anyway.
By Dr Coles
February 19, 2008 11:58 PM | Link to this
The government caused the entire problem with health care in America by over socializing (with unfunded mandates) medicine to the extent it is not completive. The government allows a monopolistic pharmaceutical environment, and the FDA a federal agency failing American citizens and needs be eliminated or completely re-organized; it’s corrupt, and is causing a major impact on the cost of healthcare in America, and we want to exacerbate the problem? http://www.InteliOrg.com/
By Churchill
February 20, 2008 12:09 AM | Link to this
The libs do, Dr.
By charles corley
February 20, 2008 9:40 AM | Link to this
1987-if you don’t get help at charter, please get help somewhere. charter medical was the largest psychiatric concern in the world. mr fickling didn’t say what his salary was in 1987 when his company was high rolling and his v.p. made 4.24 million when the company lost 39.6 million but we do know this is a GOOD EXAMPLE of why we should not leave everything to the market place. charter medical was paid $388 million in 1989 by the u.s. government for medicare and medicaid patients.1990-charter medical faces federal fraud probe, however charter medical officals say their own internal audits uncovered the $900,000 ERROR. mr israel forgot to mention how corrupt the CON process has been through the yrs. i know we tried to open nursing home. the following information lists the new plan provisions that were effective june 1, 1987 at georgia power co. for the provident medical plan. LIMIT ALCOHOL/DRUG BENEFIT $50,000 lifetime maximum benefits. guess what, after $50,000 he gets drunk on the way home. remember alcohol is NOT a disease but and excuse and the result of peer pressure whether 14, when i started or 47, when i quit on my own. thanks for letting a drinker say this.