Bill would tap HMOs for hospital help - Westfair Communications

William Mooney Jr. is hopeful that a bill in Albany requiring HMO”™s to reinvest part of their profits back into hospitals will pass soon.

The president of the Westchester County Association has been crossing the state giving speeches to support the bill, called the Healthcare Reinvestment Act, along with other health-care reforms recommended by the WCA”™s blue-ribbon taskforce formed two years ago.

Critics of the bill say it will drive up health insurance costs for small- and mid-sized businesses.

But Mooney believes the bill would help hospitals struggling financially. He also says there should be more government oversight of the health-insurance industry.

“This is an industry that, in my mind, needs to be regulated,” said Mooney. “If my car insurance, and property insurance (is regulated), than the most important issue of health care needs to be. Any time you pit shareholder value against life issues, it”™s not appropriate. (HMOs) make decisions about dividends, not about how your grandmother is taken care of.”

Mooney said health care is an important part of the state”™s economic engine, and the industry needs to undergo thorough reform.

“This is a pretty important infrastructure issue, and when a major part of your infrastructure is failing, it”™s not good for business,” he said.

Mooney is optimistic the bill will pass, because “people are getting educated to what”™s happening, and I believe (the Spitzer administration) will look at this in a very serious vein.”

Al Samuels, president of Rockland Business Association (RBA), agrees with Mooney that something needs to be done about the health-care system in the state, but says the Healthcare Reinvestment Act would just act as an additional surcharge tax on businesses.

“If the bill passes, do you think the money taken from HMO profits and redistributed to hospitals will be written off?” Samuels said. “They are going to pass the costs on to the insured.”

Samuels said that problems in the health-care industry are “so large that everyone is culpable” not just HMOs.

“You can”™t pick out an easy target like HMOs, we all have problems with them, but they”™re not the only ones culpable,” he said. “This needs to be addressed at the state level and the national level.”

One solution Samuels offered is that hospitals from the New York metropolitan area should get together, identify factors contributing to the success of financially stable hospitals, and establish a set of best practices. He said the RBA would be willing to host such a forum.

Marsha Gordon, president of The Business Council of Westchester, said that organization had also expressed qualms at the original version of the bill, but says the business council would be happy to offer suggestions on a revised version.

“We certainly support efforts to improve market conduct issues between HMO”™s and health-care providers,” she said.