Letter to the Editor
End CON job
Published Saturday, November 15, 2008
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To the editor:
There is an issue that has been under publicized, but needs to be addressed: the Certificate of Need program.
Implemented in Alaska in 1976 under a federal mandate, with funding incentives to states that implemented the CON, it was based on a concept of health care regulation from back in the 1940s.
The CON was based on a theory — that by keeping the number of medical facilities lower, those existing facilities would always be busy, making adequate income, and able to maintain lower prices for services. As opposed to a facility that was underused, and thus would charge more to compensate for its fewer number of patients, due to an area over-saturated with medical facilities.
In 1984, the feds, realizing the CON did not manage the rising health care costs, repealed its mandate and its funding.
The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission released a report in 2004, regarding how states can best manage the rising cost of health care, rejecting the CON and stating “they pose serious anti-competitive risks that usually outweigh their purported economic benefits.”
I implore you all to read the federal report about costs of health care at: http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/press_releases/2004/204711.htm.
Affordable health care saves lives. Many people die every year that could have been saved, had they been diagnosed sooner. The greatest reason people put off going in sooner is the high cost of health care.
The cost of health care insurance is also directly proportional to the costs of health care. We have to work together to repeal the failed CON law so more Alaska businesses can afford to provide health care benefits for us all, as well as to drive down the costs for government and retirement benefits.
Tell our reps to stop stalling, and get it done!
Community Discussion
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Anchorage and MatSu will control the vote on this legislation. This would be a State wide change and other smaller communities in Alaska have voiced against it. The issue is not only one of Fairbanks. Mr. Erickson you need to let the public know how much you are being paid to lobby for this change and who you are working for. Hopefully people will look at all sides of this issue before jumping to conclusions. Besides with health care reform, we should all be taken care and not have to worry about who pays the bill. Isn't this one of the new administrations promises.
And how vigorously did FMH fight to keep the CON?
Now how many facilities in Fairbanks are under Banner Health?
(including the new one @ Freddies?)
That was a hard -lost fight here. I'm all for competition. Get Banner out and private in. A little healthy (no pun intended;]) competition IN!!!!
Peace
Oddly enough, even though the federal mandate was repealed 36 states still have some form of CON program, and the 14 other states still manage health care growth somehow.
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/cert...
This year I had to undergo an MRI. Sadly, in Fairbanks, we don't have open MRIs. The first facility I went to was uncomfortable and the tech staff less than personable. I felt like I was being shoved into a toilet paper tube with a shock collar on my neck. I didn't realize I was claustrophobic, but picture someone trying to bathe a wildcat, and you might get the picture! It wasn't pretty.
The tech trying to shove me into the tube tried different ways to coax me into the machine, then finally shame me into submission. That didn't work so good. I was prescribed Valium and told to come back later. I had steeled up my courage and was ready to just get it done. Never having taken Valium, I figured it would do the trick. The second time didn't work so good, either. The Valium didn't kick in until 3 hours after the facility closed, when I was at home, safely trying to recover from the day's trauma. Then I dropped like a rock.
The next day I called around and explained my plight. The folks at Aurora Imaging were fantastic. Their staff took all the time necessary to let me check out their machine; they even let me get into it for a minute, then for two. Then they turned the machine on for me so that I could hear what it would sound like, all the while, treating me with kindness, compassion and professionalism. I scheduled an appointment for that afternoon and was finished with the process within 45 minute--sans Valium.
All of this drama seemed silly. I'm a grown woman who has faced tragedy and loss with a strong back, a wonderful support system, and a grateful heart. The logical part of me knew nothing would harm me...that it was just a noisy machine.
What is even sillier, though, is the lack of options in our community. and the spirit of greed versus need.
If it weren't for Aurora, my options would have been heavy sedation or a trip to Anchorage. I wonder, however, about the person who doesn't have those options and is forced to use the resources currently available.
Competition is a good thing. The folks at Aurora certainly earned my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude, along with that insurance reimbursement.
Mike Kelly and the CON Job. Has a ring to it doesn't it?
FreeDarfur wrote "Mr. Erickson you need to let the public know how much you are being paid to lobby for this change and who you are working for. "
I'm paid nothing for this. I do it because I have no health insurance because the company I work for cant afford it. The only grace that saves me, is that the army trained me as a medic and a nurse.
I do this so me and my family just might be able to get reasonable health care and health care insurance. Not to mention many of my neighbors, coworkers, and friends.
Who are YOU serving?
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