Bucks
St Lukes Quakertown Health Care
Dear Friends,
Good
morning. If you could take a simple
Each
November, Edward Nawrocki, the President of St. Luke’s Quakertown Hospital,
invites community leaders to hear about the health of their hospital. Dr.
Anderson was part of this program. I followed up the session with Nawrocki who
told me that there’s a website which tells all. The website, 23andme.com,
explains how you can have your
Would you spend the money or are you afraid to know?
But this was not the main thrust of the meeting. Health Care reform and what has happened at St. Luke’s Quakertown Hospital during the past year were the major reasons for the gathering.
Nawrocki spent considerable time talking about the U.S. House of Representative bill on Health Care Reform and how it would affect hospitals. As you look at the Philadelphia Inquirer’s summary of the health care makeover (Nov. 8), think about how any hospital will be affected. The bill would:
1. Create a government-run plan, or “public option,” to offer insurance coverage which would compete with private insurance companies.
2. It would set up “exchanges,” or marketplaces, where consumers could easily compare coverage and rates.
3. It would require nearly everyone to obtain health-insurance coverage starting in 2013.
4. It would require health plans to allow young adults to remain on their parents’ policies until their 27th birthday.
5. It would provide federal financial help for lower-and middle-income consumers so they can obtain coverage.
6. It would bar insurance companies from denying or limiting coverage because of preexisting conditions.
7. It would expand Medicaid coverage to more people.
8. It would impose a 5.4 percent surcharge on adjusted gross incomes of more than $500,000 for individuals; $1 million for couples.
9. It would impose penalties on people and businesses that fail to comply with the new law.
On this list, the item which will affect hospitals the most is number 3, which requires nearly everyone to obtain health insurance.
“The bill will help hospitals because less people will receive free care,” Nawrocki began. “Last year, 11 percent of our Emergency Room patients had no health insurance,” he said. “We had to absorb those costs.”
But hospitals will receive lower payments so it will take time to discover whether the changes will affect their financial health, Nawrocki predicted. “The bill does not improve the payment system,” he said.
“The Devil lies in the details,” Nawrocki continued. Holding a pen in his hand, he stated that the bill didn’t address the issue of the physician’s pen. Doctors write prescriptions for their patients that require testing in the hospital. Insurance providers can take issue with those tests and the accompanying costs. Nawrocki is guardedly optimistic about how the hospital will be affected but predicts that congress will look again at the costs within four years.
Who knows what health care reform will look like after the U.S. Senate has its say?
Doctors are unhappy with insurers too. A poll of physicians taken by the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine found that most favored expanding health coverage to the uninsured through a government-sponsored program, the so-called public option, the Inquirer reported (Nov. 10). “I’d take less salary if I could have less paperwork and less fighting with insurance companies to get what my patients need,” one physician told the Inquirer.
On a different subject, Nawrocki informed the community leaders that St. Luke’s Quakertown Hospital is the fastest growing hospital in the seven county region of Southeast Pennsylvania. That’s Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Lehigh, Philadelphia and Northampton counties. The hospital is also among the top 10 percent of hospitals in Pennsylvania in the percent of operating margins…or net income. Proportionately, it leads the four hospitals within the St. Luke’s health system.
Nawrocki is proud that the Quakertown hospital is in the top 10 percent in outpatient satisfaction in America.
Space at the hospital continues to be at a premium. It added 50,000 square feet with the opening of two new facilities: the Bone/ Joint Institute and the Upper Perkiomen Out Patient Center. Today, St. Luke’s Quakertown Hospital has 250,000 square feet and is looking to expand.
“The Upper Perkiomen Out Patient Center and Bone/ Joint Institute are short term solutions to long range problems,” Nawrocki added. “We’re looking for additional space…we’re always looking,” he repeated.
During the questions and answers part of the program, Michael Tannous, the Executive Director of the Upper Perkiomen YMCA spoke up. He told the group that a Sunday (Nov. 1) Parade Magazine prompted a health initiative in the Upper Perkiomen Valley.
“The article stated that most people don’t listen to a doctor’s advice, but they’ll follow his instruction when he writes a prescription,” Tannous began. “Our YMCA will ask area physicians to write prescriptions for good health by giving their patients a free week’s pass to the Y. It will encourage physical fitness. Dr. Priscilla Kistler, a Y advisory board member, will pilot the program.”
Dr. Thomas Filipowicz gave interesting advice about the flu, especially H1N1, the so-called swine flu. He is the Vice President for Medical Affairs at the hospital and the Emergency Department Director. Filipowicz said that five to 20 percent of Americans get seasonal flu. But he believes that older people won’t need the H1N1 flu vaccine because their natural immune system has been built over a lifetime.
Dr. Lisa Andrejko, the Superintendent of Quakertown Schools, was in the audience. She told us that students would receive the vaccine on November 13.
You can see that the meeting was full of fascinating subjects. We’ll keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith