Hoosiers for Affordable Health Care and the Indiana Employers Forum have well-designed campaigns targeting non-profit hospitals. The bill, which has been introduced to both the House and Senate at the request of the Hoosiers for Affordable Health Care and the Employer’s Forum, if passed in its original form, would force nonprofit hospitals to cut or close services and cut access to clinical care. and result in a reduced workforce, making it more difficult to recruit and retain physicians.
Moreover, even if these bills were passed in their original form, they would most likely not reduce healthcare costs for employers or patients, resulting in billions of dollars in sustained benefits for insurance companies. I think. If these bills were passed as they were originally filed, they would not attract new business to Indiana and would rather discourage investment given the unforeseen access to healthcare.
At this stage in the legislative process, the bill before the House of Representatives is being negotiated and modified to facilitate further dialogue, which we hope will lead to a more cooperative approach among stakeholders. However, the Senate bill remains largely unchanged as it was originally presented. It is unclear whether the House or Senate bills will ultimately prevail.
What others are reading:Huge medical bills? Delayed care? These invoices are useful.
To avoid the above consequences, we respectfully ask legislators to consider what we believe are the real drivers of the current state of health care spending.
- Indiana hasn’t increased Medicaid reimbursement rates in over 30 years, shifting costs to corporate insurance (employers) to pay for the shortfall.
- Insurance companies are reimbursing doctors at the fourth lowest rate in the country, and hospitals have to make up the difference. Without additional financial support from hospitals, Indiana would have fewer primary care doctors and professionals to serve Hoosiers, and people would give up treatment or travel out of state for care. I am forced to.
- Indiana ranks similarly low for tobacco use, obesity and mental health, and Indiana’s health care spending increases compared to other states, ranking 45th in the nation’s Public Health Fund. .
- Two-thirds of hospitalized patients have government-sponsored health insurance, which pays hospitals for less than it costs to serve this population, thus driving costs into commercial insurance. is shifting.
- Indiana does not have to tax hospitals to meet the state’s Medicaid obligations.
We ask lawmakers to increase Medicaid reimbursement for all health care providers, eliminate the profits that states earn from hospitals through hospital evaluation fees, and increase funding for public health programs in all counties. We strongly suggest addressing the above cost factors. These components will dramatically improve the health of the Hoosiers, attract businesses to the state, and maintain access to medical services.
Hospital costs:Indiana legislature seeks to force hospitals to cut prices
It would be easy for the Hoosiers for Affordable Health Care and the Indiana Employers’ Forum to raise red flags and simply yell “Health care is too expensive” to encourage passage of legislation that will financially cripple non-profit hospitals. It will reduce costs. If that devastation occurs and hospitals are forced to scale back or eliminate services to regain financial stability, it will take years, if possible, to rebuild what they are asking Congress to destroy.
These lobbying groups openly target specific groups in non-profit hospitals like ours. Year after year, these same groups are coming up with new ways to target hospitals, including rising drug prices, unfair profits in traveling nursing institutions, for-profit hospitals, and health insurance companies recording profits. ignoring the factors of
If affordable health care is and should be the goal, Indiana needs to collect real data and study all the factors that impact Hoosiers. Targeting a small group is not a sustainable plan and will have large unintended consequences.
Steve Beck is Chairman of the Franciscan Alliance Central Indiana Board of Directors. Michael Browning II is Vice Chairman of the Franciscan Alliance Central Indiana Board of Directors.
