Hospitals weigh impact of Obama health plan

Northern Nevada hospital administrators are sorting through the details of a plan that calls for hospitals nationwide to give up $155 billion in future Medicare and Medicaid payments as part of the Obama administration's health care plan.

Early reactions range from agreement with the general principal of expanded healthcare coverage to deep concerns about the financial hit that Nevada hospitals might suffer.

While the Nevada Hospital Association hasn't yet had time to dig through the fine print, the group thinks the deal would cost hospitals in the state between $125 million and $150 million during the next 10 years, said Bill Welch, president and chief executive officer of the association.

That's all the more troubling, he said, because more than half of Nevada's hospitals currently are operating at a loss and all are struggling with the continued weak economy in the state.

The deal between major hospital associations and the Obama administration appears to call for caps on hospital billings but doesn't address their own costs, Welch said.

“Can we freeze the salaries of our staffs for the next 10 years? I don't think so,” he said.

Hospital administrators from across the state are scheduled to meet next week to discuss the plan's implications.

Administrators of Banner Churchill Community Hospital at Fallon are monitoring developments “very closely,” said Amiee Fulk, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit hospital.

“It is hard to speculate on the impact of the reform,” Fulk said. “However, we know that we will have fewer resources for the hospital and therefore will need to learn to operate in a new environment.”

Mark Crawford, the chief executive officer of Northern Nevada Medical Center in Sparks, noted that community hospitals across the country provide the majority of free care to uninsured Americans.

“We support the goal of expanding healthcare coverage in a manner that maintains the strength and viability of community hospitals,” Crawford said.

Saint Mary's parent organization, Catholic Healthcare West, called the deal between national organizations and the Obama administration “a significant step forward.”

It said it supports phased changes in federal payments that will preserve the existing hospital system while moving toward universal coverage.

“Catholic Healthcare West believes that health care is a basic human right and should be available and accessible to all,” the organization said in a prepared statement.

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