From the CEO

Health Care Reform: It's Already Here

The furor over health care reform legislation that is sweeping the country ignores the truth that many people don't want to acknowledge: regardless of what legislation is passed by Congress this year, health care reform is already here. Much of the current debate is really focused on health insurance reform, which will affect access and cost.

Insurance reform could affect care, too, if physicians and health care facilities suddenly have to handle millions of additional patients, but any impact will be an indirect result of new legislation rather than its target. Physician investors involved with ASCs know all too well that reform is nothing new. ASC reimbursement rates have steadily declined during the past few years, and more declines are planned unless the industry is successful in its efforts to have Congress or CMS adopt a "floor" for ASC reimbursement. Investors in physician-owned hospitals know that just the threat of reform has killed more than a few projects.

That's why Nueterra is actively working with the ASC Association, the ASC Coalition and Physician Hospitals of America to ensure that key legislators understand the role that physician-owned facilities play in delivering quality, affordable care to millions of Americans annually. Nueterra executives have traveled to Washington, D.C., multiple times this year, and established ongoing communications with key elected officials in states where the company is active.

With CEO John Schario on the ASC Association Board of Directors, Nueterra took a lead role in pushing for the creation of the ASC Coalition, which will give the industry its first-ever cohesive, focused advocacy program. Through the Coalition, Nueterra helped draft the ASC Act (H.R. 2049), which would link ASC reimbursement to HOPD rates and require side-by-side quality reporting for ASCs and HOPDs.

Nueterra is also represented on the board of the Physician Hospitals of America by David Ayers, president of the company's Surgical Facilities Division. PHA has been working virtually non-stop with its members to gather information on the industry's investment in health care facilities so economic impact and quality data can be communicated to Congress. Even though the Consumer Reports hospital ranking demonstrated the strong preference consumers have for physician-owned hospitals, it appears increasingly likely that Congress will adopt some additional restrictions on these facilities.

As the physician-ownership message and information from other groups reaches Capitol Hill, the proposed health care reform legislation will continue to change. (In the days after Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus released his committee's draft legislation, more than 500 amendments were submitted!) The four broad areas being targeted by the legislation are:

  1. Insurance reform
  2. How to pay for reform
  3. A public option
  4. Medicare reform

While the debate continues, make sure your voice is heard. Contact your representative and senators, talk with their health care policy aides, invite them to tour your facility and share any information you can with them. The case for physician ownership is strong: our facilities are preferred by patients and physicians; provide quality, cost-effective care; and increase the capacity of the health care system through efficiency. We just need to make sure this message is heard repeatedly and clearly by those we elected to represent us.

Brian Levinson, vice president, Marketing, Nueterra Healthcare

For more information, visit the Nueterra public affairs website at www.nueterrahealthcare.com/pa