Fewer resources, more patients a concern for local hospital leaders

CEDAR RAPIDS – More patients and lower reimbursement for care are among the challenges facing Corridor hospitals as health care reform changes are implemented.

“There will be fewer resources and more people coming into the system,” said Ron Reed, president and CEO of Mercy Iowa City, citing the predicted 32 million more Americans who will be insured. “The cost of this is huge.”

Reed and other hospital leaders in the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids corridor participated in a panel discussion on health care reform as part of a conference Friday, Feb. 11, at the Cedar Rapids Marriott.

Conference sponsors include the University of Iowa College of Public Health and Corridor Business Journal.

Reed noted that in Iowa, about 100,000 more adults will qualify for Medicaid. For Mercy, the hospital will have about 11,000 more Medicaid patients in the 10 counties that it serves.

With a predicted $274 million in cuts over the next 10 years in payments in the Corridor, Mercy's share will be about $30 million, or $3 million in each of the next 10 years that the hospital will see in cuts, he said.

John Sheehan, executive vice president and chief operating officer of St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids, said health care systems will have to look at ways to work cooperatively to better use those limited resources.

“Today, we're set up in a competitive environment,” he said, adding that that would have to change.

Jean Robillard, University of Iowa vice president for medical affairs, said health care reform's focus on prevention will go a long way to filling the monetary void.

Addressing the most prevalent chronic diseases, such as asthma, obesity, diabetes and depression, would save billions of dollars alone, he said.

“This is where we can have the highest savings,” Robillard said.

Tim Charles, president and CEO of Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, predicted the likelihood of having the health care law repealed is slim, and implementation will come in waves.

“It won't come all at once, it will be in stages,” he said.

Charles cited health care compensation based on outcomes; greater data transparency for comparing medical facilities; “medical homes” for patients and electronic medical records among those pending stages.

Having a central system for medical records will be key, he said, citing personal experience hand-carrying his medical records from one office to another to avoid duplicating lab tests.

“As a consumer, I want it; I expect it,” Charles said. “Why can't I have it? It's time.”