Health Options Digest
July 4, 2004
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
Week In Review
Last Monday, the City of Springfield initiated amendments to the Metro Plan and Gateway Refinements Plan to permit PeaceHealth to develop a regional hospital on their site in the Gateway area. The issue will go next to the Springfield Planning Commission, probably in late summer or early fall.
In an unreported development, last Tuesday, Steve Pfeiffer, a land use attorney for PeaceHealth, told state legislators that traffic on some roads in the Gateway area could approach gridlock if the new PeaceHealth hospital is allowed to open. (The attorney was actually arguing against the state transportation rule that could prevent the hospital from opening. But his remarks assumed the rule would take effect because the traffic from the hospital would be so bad.) We wonder if PeaceHealth would be concerned if gridlock prevented ambulances from getting critical patients to the hospital fast enough.
A recent financial report shows that McKenzie-Willamette lost over $6 million in 2003.
Several people have written to local newspapers questioning the wisdom of the EWEB site for a new McKenzie-Willamette hospital.
Experts ponder to what extent one or two new hospitals in the area will increase the direct and indirect costs of health care to residents of the area -- and whether having the hospitals stay put would be less expensive.
The Wall Street Journal reports that not-for-profit hospitals across the U.S. are watching as a big Catholic facility in Illinois fights to regain its local property-tax exemption.
The State of Oregon is cutting people from the Oregon Health Plan, but is also offering a new program to provide health insurance for some children.
LTD broke ground on Bus Rapid Transit. Crews are racing to complete work on the two I-5 detour bridges over the Willamette and McKenzie Rivers. And Amtrak is making it a priority to improve train service between Eugene and Seattle.
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Looking Ahead
It's summer. Hike, bicycle, camp, fish, float down the river, go to the Oregon Country Fair or otherwise enjoy the summer. There are no critical public meetings this week.
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Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
PeaceHealth
Springfield to doctor rules for hospital
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | June 29, 2004 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Blocked by the Court of Appeals from locating a large regional hospital in a residential zone, the City Council voted Monday night to start rewriting documents -- from the Metro Plan on down -- to change the neighborhood's zoning.
On a 4-1 vote and with little comment, the council told the city staff to move forward with a series of amendments, drafted by PeaceHealth, to change the Metropolitan Area General Plan and the Gateway Refinement Plan to allow the corporation to locate its $350 million hospital in the Gateway area.
The proposed amendments will have to go to the planning commission for public hearings before being returned to the City Council for a final public hearing, city planner Colin Stephens told the council. (more...)
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City to look at rezoning RiverBend property
By Finn J. John
The Springfield News | June 30, 2004 |
By a 4-1 vote, the Springfield City Council voted Monday night to start the process of changing the zoning so that PeaceHealth can build its planned hospital at RiverBend.
The meeting was brief -- less than half an hour. Mayor Sid Leiken was careful to point out early in the meeting that public hearings and debates over whether the new hospital should be accommodated would come later; all that was being voted on Monday was asking city staff to prepare the issue for the Springfield Planning Commission to discuss and debate.
Councilor Dave Ralston, a frequent critic of the PeaceHealth project, cast the dissenting vote. (more...)
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McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
Report outlines hospital's woes
By Christian Wihtol
The Register-Guard | July 4, 2004 |
SPRINGFIELD -- McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center bled buckets of red ink in 2003, just as for-profit Triad Hospitals Inc. was stepping in to save it, the hospital's latest financial report shows.
In its report for 2003, filed with the state last month, McKenzie-Willamette said it lost $6.4 million in 2003, by far the hospital's biggest annual loss since at least the early 1990s.
The report underscores how perilous the hospital's financial condition was, even as it sought a bailout from Triad, and waged an antitrust lawsuit against giant rival PeaceHealth.
McKenzie-Willamette lost $5.8 million in the first nine months of 2003, prior to the merger with Triad, and another nearly $600,000 in the final quarter under Triad ownership, according to the reports. McKenzie-Willamette joined Triad, the nation's third-largest for-profit hospital chain, last Oct. 1. (more...)
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Kelly Objects to EW Riverfront Story
By Ted Taylor
Eugene Weekly | July 1, 2004 |
Eugene Councilor David Kelly, in response to a news story last week that said he was willing to sacrifice the riverfront for the hospital says, "I never said anything remotely like that." Kelly says what he said was that "due to the limited number of possible hospital sites acceptable to McKenzie/Triad, we may need to ultimately decide whether we are willing to accept a road north of the tracks for up to half a mile or be willing to give up the idea of maintaining a hospital in Eugene."
Kelly also says he hopes that "an alternative routing with less road length north of the railroad tracks can be designed." One option, he says, would be to build a road just south of the tracks and cross the tracks closer to the proposed hospital site.
But Kelly told EW that he would support a new road through the undeveloped riverfront area if he thought it was the only way to get a new hospital to locate at the EWEB site. (more...)
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Letter -- Hospital won't help economy
| By Charles Dexter, Eugene | June 28, 2004 |
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center is basically a local business which is majority-owned by Triad, a large, out-of-state corporation. Having McKenzie-Willamette move to Eugene will do nothing to decrease the joblessness of the area or improve the economy.
Spending millions of dollars of taxpayers' money to move an existing business from Springfield to Eugene will not improve Eugene's economy, and neither the city nor the taxpayers will ever recoup what will be spent. It is time the city officials of Eugene realize the taxpayers do not have deep pockets.
As costs go up and people file bankruptcy or move out of the area, the income to the city will decline. When seniors are taxed out of their homes, they will take their pensions and go to a healthier economic climate.
I think the people of Eugene had better open their eyes and start putting a curb on all forms of taxation or unrealistic expectations of a city with less than a 200,000 population. The city officials should concentrate on trying to attract out-of-area businesses so that we have a better tax base and more jobs within Eugene.
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Letter -- Public shouldn't pay for Triad
| By Russ DesAulnier, Eugene | June 29, 2004 |
The health care burden continually gets heavier but public discussion, as if we were all blind, mainly focuses on how to meet the ever-increasing costs and rarely on the sources of the costs.
Not even John Kerry is talking in terms of reining in the whole health care industry.
The question we need to bring to the table is whether we can continue to allow health care to be a purely market-driven industry.
Our attempts to accommodate medicine as a free enterprise gave us HMOs -- which have been a grand disappointment. Not only has their performance been shoddy, but now they have sought and achieved insulation from medical responsibility for the purpose of yet more profit.
Is getting everyone insured under current standards the answer? In addition to the 40 million uninsured, there are countless other millions who are covered but not enough. They either have huge deductibles or policy limitations which do not allow for effective health care. Almost no insurance covers preventative medicine, and most affordable policies merely insure against catastrophic hospitalization costs.
In Eugene, we are currently poised to reward Triad, a for-profit health care corporation, by footing some of the bills connected with their building on the current Eugene Water & Electric Board site.
If they want to do business here, I think we should not only refuse to pay their way, but we should demand they offer to all local residents low-cost routine testing for prevention of common ailments.
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Letter -- Initial hospital design flawed
| By Otto P. Poticha, Eugene | June 30, 2004 |
Regarding McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center's site study and the city subsidy for development at the Eugene Water & Electric Board site:
Understanding that what has been published and offered for comment is the architect's first attempt at testing the site and not the final design solution, it is important that acceptance criteria for the site planning and design for this important facility be established. It is equally important that criteria be established and conveyed to the hospital now, before any further planning or negotiations continue.
The presented site study and early design studies shown for the hospital on the EWEB site are simply unacceptable and notice of that should be made by the public, the generally silent design community, the Eugene Planning Commission and the City Council.
Placing a McDonald's prototype hospital on the edge of a large on-grade parking lot on one of the only developable river sites in this community is certainly not an acceptable solution. The presented design and site planning is the generic solution that is common to developers who seek the most expedient and cheapest solutions. It is the box store solution for hospital design.
I strongly suggest that the city add to its list of subsidies the paying of the fees for an architect and planner who possesses the sensitivity and skills to design an appropriate facility that the hospital can point to with pride and a facility that truly is an important citizen or shareholder with the community.
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Letter -- Preserve river park potential
| By Ray Wolfe, Eugene | July 3, 2004 |
The possibility of a city park along the south bank of the Willamette River will be irreversibly lost if current plans for a westbound, multi-lane, one-way arterial between the river and the railroad tracks are implemented.
A city population that will double in 50 years, the imperative increase in urban housing density and decreased future automobile use, because of unavoidably increasing petroleum prices, will produce an increased need for open park space in the city center.
The argument that a one-way street doublet will adequately join the existing downtown district with the planned urban renewal strip appendage to the east is weak because an eastbound arterial barrier would remain. An elongated downtown pattern is not pedestrian friendly. Easy out-of-city street funding should not corrupt prudent people-friendly planning.
The existing $800,000 Agate Street railroad underpass is inadequate for use in a one-way arterial street.
Automobiles are but a small part of human activity. Current plans represent a ruthless subordination of human spiritual and creative needs and talents to automotive domination. Perhaps city planners need to include more social psychology in their planning process.
Please, ask your city councilor to support full disclosure and public discussion of this matter.
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Health Care, etc.
New hospitals may gleam at a price -- costlier health care
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | July 4, 2004 |
Hospital executives want to adorn Eugene-Springfield with two shining new hospitals: a massive, nine-story affair on the banks of the McKenzie River, and a smaller, but still plush facility four miles away, along the Willamette River.
Combined, these two medical centers will cost nearly a half-billion dollars, and a growing number of community members fear that will push up the local cost of health care -- already among the highest in the state.
Double-digit increases in health insurance premiums nationwide in each of the past three years -- with 2003's 14 percent hike the largest single-year rise since 1990 -- are already straining companies and their insured employees. Locally, add in the expense for two new facilities, and there's even more pressure to boost insurance premiums, experts say.
But how big any increase might be is unclear. Even as hospital executives nationwide push major hospital projects, their impact on health care insurance is disputed. (more...)
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A Nonprofit Hospital Fights to Win Back Charitable Halo
By Lucette Lagnado
The Wall Street Journal | June 29, 2004, Page B1 |
In a case that could redefine what it means to be a charitable hospital, not-for-profit hospitals across the U.S. are watching as a big Catholic facility in Illinois fights to regain its local property-tax exemption amid questions about financial treatment of the uninsured, including aggressive debt-collection tactics.
Officials at Provena Covenant Medical Center, of Urbana, were stunned when state authorities yanked the hospital's local property-tax exemption in February, making it liable for a multimillion-dollar local tax bill. The state was acting on a petition from county tax-oversight officials who challenged Provena's nonprofit status on the grounds that profit-making entities operated within its walls. Local officials also criticized Provena's debt-collection tactics toward uninsured patients and said the hospital should be offering more charitable care.
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Health plan enrollment cut off
By David Steves
The Register-Guard | July 1, 2004 |
SALEM -- Starting today, poor Oregonians who try to enroll in the "standard" version of the Oregon Health Plan will be turned away.
The state is freezing enrollment in the version of the Oregon Health Plan that serves primarily able-bodied poor people. It's the first step as the Department of Human Services cuts $40 million in general-fund support budgeted for OHP Standard, deputy director Cindy Becker said.
If enrollment doesn't shrink enough through attrition to hit the target in coming weeks, the department will begin kicking people off by not letting them re-enroll unless their income is 50 percent of the federal poverty level or less. The poverty level is $18,850 for a family of four.
Ultimately, the OHP Standard population must drop from its current 53,000 to 25,000 by next June. It will have to decrease enrollment to about 15,000 if the federal government blocks a proposed tax on hospitals and other medical providers that is intended to generate more revenue for the Oregon Health Plan.
The reductions were spurred by defeat of last February's tax-raising ballot measure. (more...)
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State set to offer insurance for kids
| The Associated Press | July 2, 2004 |
ROSEBURG -- A new state program will offer a low-cost children's health insurance plan, in hopes of encouraging more employers to buy coverage for the children of employees.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat, announced the new program Thursday at an event in Roseburg. The new program is slated to begin in January, 2005.
In addition to employers, families whose income is below 185 percent of the federal poverty level -- about $22,450 for an individual or $46,000 for a family of four -- could be eligible for subsidies to buy the new plan through their employers.
Kulongoski also announced plans to allow families with up to $10,000 in assets to participate in the state's Children's Health Insurance Plan. Previously, the asset limit had been $5,000. (more...)
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Trauma doctors break off talks
A deadlock between the physicians group and Legacy Health System could put stress on trauma care in the state
A Portland-based group of more than 60 private-practice trauma physicians said Thursday they have given up contract negotiations with Legacy Health System, leaving the possibility that Legacy will be forced to find new doctors to treat many of the state's sickest patients or divert them elsewhere when a contract expires at midnight Monday.
The two sides have battled over two primary issues: annual pay and control over hiring and scheduling.
Oregon Health & Science University, the state's only other level-one trauma center, has made plans to increase its staffing should Legacy fail to agree on a new proposal with Trauma Specialists, the group of independent practitioners that supplies the majority of trauma-care services at the system's Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center in Portland. Even so, Oregon's trauma-care system could become overloaded, said Roy Magnusson, medical director of OHSU hospitals and clinics. (more...)
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Drug price hikes erase discounts
By Mark Sherman
The Associated Press | July 1, 2004 |
WASHINGTON -- Drug makers raised prescription prices by nearly triple the rate of inflation in the first three months of this year -- just before Medicare began its pharmacy discount card program -- negating much of the savings the government promised to seniors, according to an AARP survey released Wednesday.
Prices were raised by 3.4 percent among the top 200 brand-name drugs while inflation in general was 1.2 percent in the first quarter of 2004, the study said.
Most of the top 10 selling drugs increased in price by more than the average, led by Bristol-Myers Squibb's Plavix. The price of the blood thinner was raised by 7.9 percent, the 35 million-member AARP said. (more...)
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Nearby Developments
A river runs through it
By Paul Wurster
The Springfield News | July 1, 2004 |
[Photo: The McKenzie River is lined by lush forest, farm land, public parks and a number of boat landings for easy access.]
The McKenzie River is a favorite destination for hard-core, white water thrill seekers, but that doesn't mean it's off limits to the occasional paddler looking for a leisurely float.
The lower McKenzie, from Leaburg to the confluence of the Willamette River is a 40-mile scenic byway ready made for open canoeists and rafters with basic paddling skills.
A popular stretch -- especially with drift boat anglers -- begins just below Leaburg Dam and flows down to Hendricks Bridge, about 10 miles east of Springfield. This 15-mile run is relatively quiet compared to areas above Leaburg. The scenery is a mix of agricultural countryside, forest and developed private property. Many impressive homes line the banks.
Much of the run features deep, clear stretches that meander around large brush covered islands. But there are sections that run swiftly through sharp turns and require careful attention. Some areas have tight turns that call for controlled back-paddling to avoid brush, rocks, logs and other hazards. (more...)
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City considers construction of jail, public safety building
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | July 3, 2004 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Tired of the revolving door at the Lane County Jail, Springfield is thinking of building its own lockup.
At a City Council work session to be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, police Chief Jerry Smith and the council will discuss the possibility of seeking a bond measure this November to construct a new public safety building and jail for the city.
In his memo to the council, Smith takes a few pointed jabs at Lane County, which regularly releases prisoners from its jail because of funding problems. (more...)
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Urban renewal wish list
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | July 3, 2004 |
SPRINGFIELD -- Projects for a proposed urban renewal district in downtown Springfield could include subsidized housing, improvements to retail establishments, park development along the Willamette River and improvements to the millrace.
That's according to a report to be presented to the City Council, which will discuss proposed urban renewal districts for downtown and Glenwood at its work session Monday.
The list of ideas for downtown includes building a 40,000-square-foot conference center and adjacent 150-room hotel, plus a site for a new public safety facility. (more...)
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Eighth Ave. makeover plan on tap for hearing
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | July 4, 2004 |
If you want to have a say about what the city does with your downtown public buildings, set aside some time on the evening of July 12.
That's when the Eugene City Council has scheduled a public hearing on an ambitious and costly plan to remake East Eighth Avenue over the next few decades. (more...)
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Transportation
EmX Groundbreaking!
| Lane Transit District | July 1, 2004 |
Lane Transit District celebrated the groundbreaking for the Franklin Corridor EmX, the first bus rapid transit line, at an event on Thursday, July 1, 2004.
Senator Ron Wyden and Congressman Peter DeFazio were guests of honor at the event that took place on the lawn area between Franklin Blvd. and E. 13th Avenue (next to Williams Bakery). (more...)
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Work Begins On Bus Rapid Transit
EUGENE -- Ground has been broken on Eugene and Springfield's Bus Rapid Transit system. Now called EmX, for Emerald Express, Bus Rapid Transit is viewed by some as the transportation system of the future for our area. "This is about the kind of quality of life at the ability to attract high skill, high wage jobs that we want for the community over the next couple of decades," says Oregon Senator Ron Wyden. (more...)
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Bus Rapid Transit work gets started
By Randi Bjornstad
The Register-Guard | July 2, 2004 |
A little more than two years from now, it should be possible to hop on a futuristic New Flyer bus and whisk between the downtowns of Eugene and Springfield -- or any of eight stations along the way -- in 15 minutes or less.
Riders on Lane Transit District's Bus Rapid Transit system, dubbed EmX, will use a pre-paid fare system to walk onto one of five special curb-level buses that will have priority over other vehicles at intersections and enjoy their own right-of-way for most of the four-mile trip between the two downtown stations.
Dignitaries gathered Thursday morning alongside Franklin Boulevard to break ground -- or at least pretend to -- for the first phase of LTD's Bus Rapid Transit system, scheduled to begin operation in September 2006. (more...)
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Lane Transit District Board of Directors
| The Register-Guard | July 1, 2004 |
The Lane Transit District Board of Directors has elected new officers for 2004-05. Gerry Gaydos will serve as president; Susan Ban vice president; David Gant secretary; and Dave Kleger treasurer.
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Crews racing to finish bridges
By Scott Maben
The Register-Guard | July 3, 2004 |
The race is on to complete new Interstate 5 bridges in the Eugene-Springfield area, and it looks as if the contractors may cross the finish line neck and neck, with weeks to spare.
Hamilton Construction of Springfield and its partner/subcontractor on the job, Wildish Construction of Eugene, are on pace to finish the bridges over the Willamette and McKenzie rivers by mid-August.
For each day the companies finish ahead of Sept. 4, they'll earn a $20,000 bonus. If they finish past that date, they'll lose $20,000 a day.
Like giant carrots dangling from cranes, the financial incentives have spurred a friendly competition between the Hamilton crew building the Willamette span and the Wildish crew erecting the McKenzie span. (more...)
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Amtrak Makes Eugene-Seattle Run A Priority
| The Associated Press | June 30, 2004 |
PORTLAND -- Amtrak officials have placed the Eugene-Seattle rail link high on their list of priorities in a new five-year plan that calls for $1.98 billion in federal funding for nationwide rail improvements.
The as-yet-unfunded plan identifies $552 million in hoped-for improvements that could be made between Portland and Seattle, and $60 million between Eugene and Portland.
If all were completed, roundtrip service between Eugene and Portland could rise from two trains daily to three and from three trains daily to five between Portland and Seattle.
Some of the improvements concentrate on adding tracks at busy crossroads where passenger and freight trains intersect. In Oregon, improvements were listed for Eugene, Millersburg and the Albina Yard in Portland, according to a report in The Oregonian newspaper.
Key elements in Washington included a bypass through the Vancouver rail yard and 18 miles of additional tracks in the Kelso area and additional track and signals between Tacoma and Seattle.
But it wasn't immediately clear whether Congress is willing to pay. Marc Magliari, an Amtrak spokesman, said Tuesday's announcement was the plan's "initiation into the marketplace of ideas" and has no congressional sponsor.
Passengers using the corridor during the 2003 fiscal year numbered almost 590,000. Amtrak said that total could climb to 1,045,000 by 2007 and to nearly 3.5 million in 10 years if improvements make rail more competitive with cars and airplanes.
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