Open enrollment begins October 1, 2013 for the federal Affordable Care Act that will bring large-scale health insurance reforms which will affect everyone in the country. On May 23, the Cook County North Shore Hospital board discussed the kinds of changes that are expected under the new system.
St. Luke’s Hospital President John Strange said hospitals expect bad debt to increase. The insurance programs that are being promoted by the government right now are high deductible programs, he said. Most people will get these plans, he said, but a lot of them won’t be able to afford the deductibles.
For some people, a deductible of $10,000 is like a million dollars, said board member Tom Spence.
Some businesses are breaking up into smaller companies of fewer than 50 employees to avoid having to pay for employee health insurance, Strange said. Others will not offer insurance and pay a penalty because that will be less expensive than paying for insurance.
“I think insurance companies are very nervous about this as well,” said Strange. “It’s going to be very expensive for them as well.”
Board member Justin Mueller said he had attended a St. Luke’s board retreat, where he learned that U.S. health care costs used to be on par with other countries, but now U.S. citizens pay two to three times what people in other countries pay. Consumer pressure is causing that upward trend to slow, however, he said. Patients are shopping for health care more thoroughly, which will create competition among providers.
Sawtooth Mountain Clinic Director Rita Plourde said she has applied for a grant that would allow them to help people learn about the new Affordable Care Act system.
In other hospital news:
. Controller Yvonne Gennrich will be leaving her job to take a job as controller at a critical access hospital southwest of the Twin Cities where her family lives. Her last day at North Shore Hospital will be June 21.
. Numerous Minnesota hospitals have been given until January 1, 2014 to switch to a new Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota billing system after the Minnesota Hospital Association, hospital administrators and representatives of the state protested the financial consequences and the expectation that small hospitals would learn the new system in a short period of time.
Board member Tom Spence credited Administrator Kimber Wraalstad with setting the stage for other hospitals that faced the same issue. He said the pressure Blue Cross received caused it to make a change faster than he had ever seen. . The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is requiring the hospital to purchase a computer module at a cost of $69,080 to attest to achieving “meaningful use” of certified electronic health record technology. Hospitals get a financial incentive to have the software whether they use it or not. “It doesn’t need to be operable,” said Controller Yvonne Gennrich. “We just need to get it. It’s the craziest thing!”
The hospital will get back about 90 percent of the cost of the software if they meet the requirements of “meaningful use,” whereas it would be penalized for not meeting the requirements. The board approved the purchase.
. The board voted to continue participation in the Equitable Cost-Sharing for Publicly Owned Nursing Facilities program, a mechanism of receiving federal funding. It has resulted in costs to private pay residents that are higher but that more accurately reflect the cost of the services they receive.
. Gardening projects on hospital grounds will be expanded this year thanks to a grant of $2,849 from the Northeast Minnesota Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP). The grant will pay for increasing the number of raised garden beds from four to 12 and adding equipment such as a composter and a seed-starting stand for Care Center residents.
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