While providing coverage to the nation's uninsured will dramatically reduce pressure on emergency rooms, California's hospitals will be unfairly burdened by reform, according to Jim Lott, executive vice president of the Hospital Association of Southern California.
"For individuals to be able to get insurance who can't get it today, that is spectacular," Lott said. "That will seriously reduce the burden to hospital emergency rooms in terms of costs and overcrowding by allowing people other entry points to health care."
But, California will pay a higher price for reform than some other states, he added.
The situation stems from a study that found large disparities in the amount Medicare reimburses to states for patient care. While Medicare spends nearly $9,000 for enrollees in California, it spends between $6,000 and $7,000 in Oregon, Idaho, Minnesota, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota and several other states.
So lawmakers from those states demanded health care reform include changes to shift reimbursement dollars away from states like California and toward their constituencies.
Lott and other hospital officials attempted over the past several months to undo the reimbursement shifts. They were unsuccessful.
"Unfortunately we still expect for California to be raided by the rural states," Lott said.
In addition, hospitals that see a large number of uninsured patients will also be hit by cuts to federal funds that partially reimburse such hospitals for their costs. The idea is that under reform, many of those patients will get insurance so reimbursement will no longer be necessary.
"We need to see health care reform cure the problem before the cuts are made," Lott said.
Still, Dennis Lee, president and CEO of Methodist Hospital in Arcadia and chairman of a coalition of San Gabriel Valley- area hospital officials, said the changes are not disastrous for hospitals.
"Is it catastrophic for us? No, it's not catastrophic," he said.
He said local hospitals have much to gain from reform.
Currently, one out of every five patients who gets treatment in emergency rooms is uninsured.
If those patients get regular primary care instead of going to the ER once they are very sick, it will save money and reduce hospital costs, Lee said.
"That is why industry has always supported expanding the coverage to more of our population.
"Yes, we all have a concern about how its going to be paid for, whether or not we are burdening our grandchildren with unmanageable debt," he said. "But the fact that more people have insurance coverage, and will have better access like primary care is a very good thing."
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Health Care Reform Gets Mixed ReviewsOriginally from: http://www.nursinglink.monster.com/news/articles/11916-health-care-reform-gets-mixed-reviews
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