HCHS execs weigh in on healthcare reform debate

By Bob Rosenburgh, Staff Writer

STIGLER, Sept. 17 — President Obama’s current plan to transform America’s healthcare system has sparked heated exchanges across the nation, both for and against his version of reform.

But while the national debate rages on, even as legislation is being formulated, local officials are taking a less emotional look at the healthcare needs of Haskell County and drawing their own reasonable and logical conclusions about what can realistically be done.

Statewide, the Oklahoma Hospital Association has been carefully taking the pulse of their patients’ and caregivers’ views about pending changes in national healthcare. Through a series of town hall meetings, conferences and public discussions, said Chris Larkin, CEO of the Haskell County Healthcare System, managers have collected data on the issues, county by county and city by city, then went to Oklahoma City on Sept. 1 for a statewide caregivers and administrators conference. Healthcare leaders from every corner of Oklahoma added their voices to the collective record.

Larkin and Joe Morris, the chief financial officer of the HCHS, expressed their concerns.

“We talked about what’s been going on in the town hall meetings, the problems we face now and we invited some legislators as well,” said Larkin. He said it was a chance for all the hospital administrators to get together and have an open forum. “It’s a way to get together, see what’s been happening and serve as a kind of watchdog over what bills are coming through. Then we can get with the legislators, one on one, and they can hear our voice and make sure we’re all on the same page.”

One item high on their list of priorities is tort reform as a means to reduce costs overall. Because doctors, hospitals, clinics, pharmaceutical companies and research facilities need to carry such high insurance premiums due to excessive lawsuits and inflated damage settlements, some relief from liabilities is essential, said Larkin.

“There needs to be better checks and balances,” he said. “Physicians today tend to take the approach that they must go above and beyond what used to be a normal diagnosis,” said Larkin, noting that doctors have become more cautious about the potential for adjudication. “They’ll often order extra tests which can be expensive and that drives up health costs.”

Many believe tort reform would help reduce those often un-needed extras, reducing costs. By making it more difficult or costly to engage in frivolous lawsuits and by capping unrealistic settlement amounts, insurance rates would go down and the savings would return to the patients in addition to making healthcare insurance more affordable and restore financial viability to healthcare operations.

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