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60 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, April 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 24, 2005 Hospitals put under microscope By DON JEPSEN for the Mail Tribune SALEM — Legislators are scheduled to consider a bill this week that would require hospitals to demonstrate a need for offering a new service to avoid wasteful duplication and to rein in the cost of health care. Among the sponsors is Sen. Alan Bates, D-Ashland, a physician, and Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem. "We know that the cost of health care is growing in this country at a rate that cannot be sustained," Bates said. While there are a lot of drivers pushing up rates, Bates said a major factor is duplicative health services. "In our particular valley, we have two hospitals competing against each other ... in oncology, in obstetrics, potentially in cardiac surgery and potentially in intensive care," Bates said. Providence Medford Medical Center will begin offering several cardiology services now available only at Rogue Valley Medical Center. That will make Medford the only Oregon city besides Portland that has two hospitals offering procedures such as balloon angioplasty and stent implants. Providence does not plan to provide open heart surgery, which is performed at RVMC. Advertisement Unfortunately, Bates said, competition from duplicate services does not drive down the cost of hospital care. Senate Bill 503 would require hospitals to obtain a certificate of need to add or expand their health services. Outpatient services like free-standing surgical centers, oncology centers and skilled nursing facilities would also come under the certificate of need requirement. The current certificate of need only applies to the construction of new hospitals. It has basically become a "rubber stamp," Bates said. Roy Vinyard, chief executive officer of Asante Health System, which owns RVMC, said "If it is, then it’s an expensive rubber stamp." Expanding it to hospital additions and independent medical centers means that Bates is bucking the medical establishment. "But they have the opportunity to amend the bill and, hopefully, to formulate good public policy," Bates said. Spokesmen for Medford’s two hospital systems were cautious in their appraisals of SB503. Vinyard said the RVMC is opposed to the measure as it is now written — specifically the requirement that hospitals obtain a certificate of need before expanding. RVMC does support the provision that other types of medical facilities are being brought under the certificate of need process before building new facilities. "If you are doing the right thing for the community, you go out and assess the need before expanding," said Vinyard, admitting that duplication of medical services in smaller communities such as Medford "can be a problem." Gary Walker, a government affairs spokesman for Providence Health System’s Oregon office in Portland, said Providence has not yet taken a position on the bill. "Obviously, were are actively tracking the measure. We’re watching the progress very closely," Walker said. Providence Health System operates 19 hospitals in Oregon, Washington, California and Alaska. Scott Gallant is legislative director for the Oregon Medical Association. The physician’s group has come out against the measure. Gallant said the bill would be costly and will stifle competition. "Policy makers sometimes target a problem at the wrong time with the wrong solution," he said. The first hearing on SB503 is scheduled this week. Asked if it were rather late in the session to get a major bill through, Bates said "No." "I think we’ve got a lot of time here yet," he said. Even if it doesn’t make it all the way to the governor’s desk, Bates said he hopes it gets a full hearing in the Senate and then send it to the House "for an even fuller hearing, so at least we can frame the issue." Don Jepsen is a free-lance writer living in Salem. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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