MedCity Influencers, Policy

Healthcare reform off to ‘a good start’

The massive overhaul of the nation's healthcare system that's beginning to roll out this month is ''a good start.'' But expect to see more efforts among doctors and hospitals to coordinate your care as a result of the new provisions, Richard J. Umbdenstock, president and chief executive of the American Hospital Association, said during a talk at the Akron Roundtable on Thursday.

The massive overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system that’s beginning to roll out this month is ”a good start,” the head of the nation’s largest hospital association said.

Expect to see more efforts in coming years among doctors and hospitals to coordinate your care as a result of the new provisions, Richard J. Umbdenstock, president and chief executive of the American Hospital Association, said during a talk at the Akron Roundtable on Thursday.

By insuring more Americans and boosting the primary-care system, health reform also should move more routine medical care out of hospital ERs, he said. ”It’s not the place you want to provide care for those conditions,” Umbdenstock said. ”We’re just out of synch of using the right location for the right care at the right time.”

The association, which represents about 5,000 hospitals nationwide, supported many aspects of the health reform measure passed by Congress this year. During his talk, Umbdenstock said the reform law and other federal provisions will provide coverage to about 32 million uninsured Americans, add patient protections, reward quality and boost health-information technology.

The federal measure also includes support for wellness initiatives, as well as requirements that health insurers cover preventive care, he said. Health reform will begin to shift the focus away from just paying doctors and hospitals for services provided to rewarding coordinated efforts to keep patients healthy, Umbdenstock said in an interview before his speech.

”The ideal state of the healthcare system would be to keep everyone well and on the job and productive, with a system that is there if they become sick or injured,” he said.

After his talk, Umbdenstock joined Akron General Health System President and Chief Executive Vincent J. McCorkle to tour General’s Health & Wellness Center-North in Stow. Akron General runs another health and wellness center in Bath Township and recently began construction on a third facility in Green.

In the future, the health system wants to open more health and wellness centers in the region, including in economically distressed areas, McCorkle said Thursday. ”I really think there’s an opportunity to improve the health of the community,” he said.

Any potential implications of healthcare reform on hospital finances could have a huge impact on the region, which relies on Akron Children’s Hospital, Akron General and Summa Health System as among its largest employers.

Healthcare reform is expected to reduce Medicare and Medicaid payments to hospitals by billions of dollars during the next decade, Umbdenstock said. But the reduction will coincide with millions of patients who previously were uninsured gaining coverage. ”The fact is currently those individuals who come to the hospital and aren’t covered, hospitals don’t get paid,” he said.

Regardless of what happens in the November general election, many aspects of healthcare reform likely will remain, Umbdenstock said. ”Most of what’s in this bill is supported by both parties,” he said.

The portions that could be up for future debate include mandates that people obtain insurance, as well as requirements that most employers provide coverage or pay a penalty, he said. The expansion of Medicaid and tax breaks to buy insurance also could be subject to change.

But both parties agree there needs to be a push to pay for health-care quality, not simply volume, Umbdenstock said. ”They do want to pay for value,” he said.


Cheryl Powell, Akron Beacon Journal

Cheryl Powell is a health reporter for The Akron Beacon Journal, the daily newspaper in Akron and a syndication partner of MedCity News.

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