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Prognosis unsettled for health care �crisis� By Bill Kettler The problems were easy to identify, but no easy solutions surfaced Thursday when the Rogue Valley Civic League met to talk about the state of health care in Southern Oregon. Only one thing seemed clear: Most people will pay more for health-care insurance and visits to the doctor�s office. "I think we have a crisis in the affordability of health care," said Les Cracraft, regional manager for Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, the region�s largest health insurance provider. Two doctors, a hospital administrator, and an insurance executive listed the problems during a discussion at the Smullin Center: Skyrocketing insurance premiums have made health-care insurance unaffordable for many employers. Inadequate federal reimbursement for Medicare patients in Southern Oregon costs physicians money every time they treat a senior. Recruiting new physicians to Southern Oregon is increasingly difficult because they can earn more money elsewhere and enjoy better working conditions. Southern Oregon�s population is not large enough to support HMO-style health insurance programs. Rising medical costs for drugs and new technology continue to raise the cost of health care. Dr. Bruce Van Zee, of Medford, told an audience of about 40 people that doctors in rural areas such as Medford are compensated at a substantially lower rate for Medicare patients than doctors in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles or Dade County, Fla. Expecting Congress to equalize the funding formula "ain�t gonna happen," Van Zee said, because it would be political suicide for politicians in large metropolitan areas to support any proposal that might reduce funding for their constituents. Cracraft said HMO-type insurance plans have struggled in Southern Oregon because the region�s many small businesses can�t afford the insurance premiums. "The majority of employers in our community have fewer than 10 employees," he said. "A region where the average wage is $12 an hour cannot afford health care that costs $600 per (person) per month. "The sick people are buying insurance," he said. "The healthy people are taking the risk (that they won�t have a major medical crisis)." Cracraft said low Medicare reimbursements make it difficult to recruit new physicians to replace those who retire or move, despite Southern Oregon�s desirable quality of life. "They�d love to live here," he said, "but they have to sustain their business practices." Van Zee said HMOs function best in big metropolitan areas where there is a large healthy population to spread the risk. Southern Oregon has too few people, and the large population of retired people on Medicare increases costs. Hospitals are struggling too, said Marvin Haas, chief financial officer for Asante Health Systems. He said non-profit hospitals such as Rogue Valley Medical Center typically try to operate with a 2 to 5 percent surplus that can be spent on new technology and capital improvements, but the Asante system lost 2 percent in fiscal year 1999. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.