The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Today's Front Page

September 4, 2010

New health care initiative topic on last day of business summit

By Tina Alvey Register-Herald Reporter

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — With rumors swirling around the federal Health Care Act, the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce convened a panel during the final day of its business summit here Friday to discuss some of the challenges the legislation poses. Two speakers focused on the impact expected on the state’s health care industry.

State Sen. Evan Jenkins, who serves as the executive director of the West Virginia Medical Association, pointed out his organization was opposed to the bill adopted by Congress, although the American Medical Association supported the new law.

“The AMA was hoodwinked,” Jenkins proclaimed.

He said the health care provider system is already overburdened in a state where one of every two babies is covered by Medicaid at birth. Moving another 160,000 to 170,000 people from the ranks of the uninsured to the Medicaid rolls will add to that burden, Jenkins noted, saying the state will have to come up with an estimated $100 million to $150 million to pay for their health care.

Jenkins also warned that much of West Virginia is already identified by the federal government as “medically underserved,” and the health care providers who are willing to step in to serve rural areas without modern medical facilities may not offer quality care.

“We are very concerned about a dumbing down of medical care in our state,” Jenkins said.

Joe Letnaunchyn, president and CEO of the West Virginia Hospital Association, pointed out that hospitals are also large employers, meaning they are looking at the impact of reform from the dual perspective of purchasers of insurance and recipients of insurers’ payments.

“We’re all in this game together,” he said.

With the expansion of Medicaid, hospitals will have to figure out how to get enough physicians to treat all the people expected to seek care once the financial barriers are removed, he said.

Like Medicare and PEIA (Public Employees Insurance Agency), Medicaid pays a reduced amount for health care services rendered. After the new law goes into full effect, West Virginia hospitals will face those reduced payments for as many as 70 percent of all patients, Letnaunchyn said.

“We bill retail and collect wholesale,” he explained.

Over a 10-year period, these reforms are projected to have a $1.3 billion impact on the state’s hospitals due to the reduced payments, he said.

Despite the economic challenges ahead, however, Letnaunchyn promised that hospitals will continue to focus on “quality care with good outcomes.”

— E-mail: talvey@register-herald.com

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