CLEVELAND, Ohio — Policy changes won’t come soon enough to lessen the economic pain for health-care providers, predicts the Cleveland Clinic’s vice president of governmental relations.
“It’s going to be a big year for doing more for less,” Oliver Henkel said.
Henkel’s concerns are largely for hospital systems, and his worries are two-fold.
Navigating The Right Steps For Your Healthcare Startup
This webinar will explore how a banking platform approach could be the resource for your company.
First, jobless numbers, which are at record levels in Ohio and nationally, will strip more Americans of their insurance and push others to Medicaid. Secondly, decreasing tax revenue will only increase the speed of Medicare’s insolvency, which is predicted for 2019.
Henkel said to cope with these matters, you “either raise taxes or you reduce your Medicare payments.”
“We’ll see whether providers can tolerate it and keep their heads above water,” he said. “Either way, it’s going to be painful for the provider and the beneficiary.”
Cleveland Clinic is tightening its belt and expects to spend less to lobby the federal government this year. It won’t renew a contract with Van Scoycoc & Associates, to which it gave $180,000Â last year, according to final lobbying disclosures the Clinic filed last week.
The Clinic used Van Scoyoc to lobby Congress on budget and appropriations issues. Van Scoyoc Vice President Jennifer LaTourette is married to Congressman Steve LaTourette, who now is on the House Appropriations Committee. Because of the conflict of interests this creates, the Clinic could no longer use Van Scoyoc’s services, Henkel said.
The Top Surgical Instruments Needed for Extractions
Discover what tools are essential for efficient, safe surgical extractions in today’s health care landscape, from elevators to forceps and beyond.
“To (Jennifer’s) great credit, she raised it with me before Steve was going on appropriations,” Henkel said.