PORT ANGELES — Olympic Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Eric Lewis and Commissioner Jim Leskinovitch lobbied the U.S. congressional delegation for adequate Medicare reimbursement and other reforms at the rural hospital “advocacy days” in Washington, D.C., last month.
Lewis discussed the conversations they had Sept. 13-14 and touched on the financial challenges that OMC and other hospitals are facing during last Wednesday night’s hospital board meeting.
“All the elected officials listened, but they kept repeating: ‘The budget is in bad shape, and we don’t know what’s going to happen,’” Lewis said.
Jefferson Healthcare, Forks in Olympia
Lewis and Leskinovitch were joined by 26 others representing 15 Washington hospitals, including Jefferson Healthcare and Forks Community hospitals.
They met with elected officials to “try to inform them and convince them to support rural health care,” Lewis said.
Meetings were held with U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Bothell, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Mountlake Terrace, and other members of Congress.
Dicks represents the 6th Congressional District, which includes Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Murray and Cantwell represent the entire state.
“We have to continue our efforts on advocacy at the federal level,” Lewis said.
“For OMC’s future — because 55 percent of our patients are Medicare — we have to get adequate Medicare reimbursement. Right now, we’re paid below cost for Medicare, and that’s not sustainable.”
Lewis has been a strong advocate for reforming the geographic variation in Medicare reimbursement. Larger states get paid more per Medicare patient because they have less primary care and more representation in the U.S. House of Representatives, he said.
OMC gets about 72 percent of its business from Medicare or Medicaid.
Another key item of discussion was protecting physician payments, which are scheduled to be cut by 29.5 percent Jan. 1.
‘Hold harmless’ needed
They also lobbied for an extension of a “hold harmless” program for outpatient care at sole community hospitals like OMC, which expires Dec. 31.
If reimbursement rates drop too far, say 84 percent of cost, hold harmless lifts reimbursement to 92 percent of cost.
Critical access hospitals — those with 25 beds or fewer such as Jefferson Healthcare and Forks Community — are paid at cost for Medicare.
Sole community hospitals are not, which translates to a loss of about $6 million per-year for OMC.
Turning his attention to the state budget, Lewis said proposed cuts to the Basic Health Plan, certified public expenditure payments, disability lifeline program and maternity support services would amount to a $4.96 million per year hit to OMC.
“It’s very challenging,” Lewis said.
During a political forum held by the Port Angeles Rotary Club meeting earlier Wednesday, OMC Commissioner John Nutter said health care is facing a “financial disaster.”
“A perfect storm is happening,” he said.
Nutter said the $5 million in proposed state cuts is “more than our bottom line the last two years put together.”
Board chairman Jim Cammack on Wednesday night urged to public to get informed and contact their elected representatives through a legislative advocacy link at www.olympic
medical.org.
Click on the button with the American flag on the upper left side of the OMC home page.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
