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Hare pledges major health care policy changes
Originally Posted Online: Feb. 27, 2009, 5:50 pm
Last Updated: Feb. 28, 2009, 11:32 am
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By Brandy Donaldson, bdonaldson@qconline.com
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Through both the federal stimulus package and other legislation, the federal government intends to further assist the health care sector, U.S. Rep. Phil Hare, D-Rock Island, said at a town hall discussion Friday at Genesis Medical Center Illini Campus in Silvis. "My predecessor Lane (Evans) used to say, 'when you're headed over a cliff in a car at 100 mph, you don't need more time, you need to change your direction quickly,'" Rep. Hare told his audience, which included health care officials from the Quad-Cities, Mercer County, Kewanee and Macomb. "This (stimulus package) is something we absolutely had to do. I've had physicians and others come up to me and say, we want to provide this type of health care, but we're not being reimbursed. And if we don't fix this pretty soon, we're going to be in the position where we may not be able to provide the kind of health care we want." The stimulus package allocated $19 billion for health care information technology to allow more efficient electronic exchange of patient information between doctors. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 was the catalyst for this particular element of the stimulus. These IT improvements are intended to save billions by helping eliminate costly medical recording errors. Illinois will receive $2.9 billion in Medicaid assistance from the recovery package, along with a nine-month extension in the COBRA medical benefits of displaced workers. "This is not going to be the end-all solution in health care," Rep. Hare said. "But if you heard the president's speech the other night, it was made very clear health care is very high on his agenda." Rep. Hare, who Illini president Chuck Bruhn called "a friend of health care," also touted Congress' dedication to future health care legislation. He asked those present from within the industry to help him compile pertinent requests to take back to Capitol Hill "I'm going to need help from everybody in this room as we develop what I consider to be extremely important legislation," Rep. Hare said. Up to this point, Congress has been "reacting" to the health care crisis by "patching" it, and it is time to change that system of policy-making, Rep. Hare said. "We have to do something that's much more long-term so that hospitals, physicians, health care providers and nursing homes understand they can count on getting reimbursed in a timely fashion. … If we do nothing, we sin by silence." Health care officials at the town hall meeting seemed encouraged by the stimulus package and what they heard from Rep. Hare. "A lot of details have yet to be determined, but the immediate thing we've seen in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers, is the state Illinois has been hugely deficient in paying the bills for services we provide our patients," Mr. Bruhn said. "One of the key things this stimulus package will provide is instant funds into the state to help the states pay what they owe to health care providers. What will also be helpful is for those folks who have lost their jobs, getting them reduced rates for COBRA so they can continue on with health benefits for themselves and their families." Doug Cropper, president of Genesis Health Systems, said he's optimistic about the future. "This is such a critical time for health care. But we are definitely, based on what's been said, going to see health care reform," he said. "I'm a born optimist. I believe we will make changes for the better. "It's a particularly important time for us to speak up and be represented so we can make health care better for this community and whole nation." 
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