Sen. Ray Miller (D-Columbus), in a press conference today, advocated for his proposal to double the requirement for hospitals’ mandated free care to 200 percent of the poverty level without offering new resources to accomplish it. Though Ohio’s hospitals welcome a public debate on the problem of how to provide needed medical care to the growing uninsured population, requiring hospitals to provide free care for more patients ignores the larger problem of a broken health care financing system and creates a situation worse than the one it aims to fix.

Ohio hospitals provided more than $1 billion in medical care that was not reimbursed in 2003—offering hospital-level care free of charge to 17.1 percent of Ohioans with incomes at or below the federal poverty level and providing care to many others above the poverty line. Miller’s Senate Bill 186 would fall on top of a current state budget that already spells $400 million in state funding cuts for care to Medicaid beneficiaries and injured workers. These cuts have consequences and jeopardize care for all patients.

An added danger is that SB 186 may serve as an incentive for some employers and employees not to obtain or keep private health insurance. Instead of focusing on reducing the ranks of the uninsured, it may in fact add to them and increase the cost of health insurance for all. This works against the state’s economic development programs intended to show “Ohio Means Business.”

Dealing another blow to hospitals’ precarious financial balance and adding a motivation for additional Ohioans to remain or become uninsured, SB 186 proposes an unworkable and expensive remedy to problems in the nation’s health care system. OHA will provide ongoing updates if the bill receives legislative hearings. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) recently changed the deadline and process for amending contracts.

JCAHO set Oct. 31 as the revised deadline for hospitals to amend and execute a final 2006 Accreditation Contract. Hospitals wishing to execute an amended contract, including those that already followed the previous directions from the American Hospital Association (AHA), now must use their organizations’ JCAHO Extranet Web site to accept electronically an amended 2006 Accreditation Contract. Additional steps must be taken for hospitals that wish to make special amendment requests specified by JCAHO. Furthermore, hospitals should no longer fax requests for amending their 2006 accreditation contracts to their respective account representatives.

The extended deadline allows hospitals additional time to consider amendments and request that appropriate amendments be included in their accreditation agreements. AHA advises hospitals to consult with their legal counsels about the appropriate contractual relationship for their organizations and whether they should amend their JCAHO contract.

Questions and concerns about the new amendment process can be directed to Don Nielsen, AHA senior vice president for quality, at 312.422.2708 or dnielsen@aha.org, or to Lawrence Highes, regulatory counsel and director of member relations, at 202.626.2346 or lhughes@aha.org. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)