Parkview Health cited in NYT report on hospital overload

FORT WAYNE, Indiana (WANE) – Parkview Health was quoted in a New York Times article on hospital overload.

The New York Times on Thursday released a report titled "Many hospitals charge double or triple what Medicare would pay". The main picture of the report is Randallia Drive Parkview Hospital. The report begins with an overwhelming fact about the largest health care network in northeastern Indiana.

"In Indiana, a local hospital system, Parkview Health, was charging private insurance companies about four times the amount paid by the federal Medicare program for the same care," reported the New York Times.

The report comes out of a study on hospital prices in half of the country, released Thursday by the non-profit corporation RAND Corp.

The story then resumed Mike Packnett, CEO of Parkview Health, who explained that Parkview's goal was quality of care. He added that the health network was adopting new types of contracts.

"At Parkview Health, we believe the most important conversation is about what we can do to move forward, in strategic alignment with employers and insurance companies, to provide life-saving care. the highest quality at the best cost, "said Packnett in a statement. New York Times report.

WANE 15 contacted Parkview Health for a response to the New York Times report. We received a similar statement:

"Focusing only on hospital pricing will not allow employers to meet their health care cost targets." While we're talking to employers in the area, they understand that it's also important Consider the quality and quantity of care.The good news is that working with a number of employers and other partners in the region to achieve their health care goals is something we look forward to working with. even more employers in the future to create innovative models of care to achieve our common goal of providing the best care at the best cost. "

The American Hospital Association also issued a statement, citing "concerns" with the RAND Corp. report, including a small sample. This statement, attributed to general counsel of the association, Melinda Hatton, reads as follows:

"The report released today by RAND Corp. raises a number of concerns.The authors point out in particular that the main limitation of the study lies in the reduced size of its sample – less than 5% of all people covered in about half of the states, and only 2% of the 181 million Americans benefiting from insurance nationwide.

In addition, Medicare payment rates, whose reimbursement is lower than the cost of care, should not be considered as a standard reference for hospital prices. In 2017, hospitals only received 87 cents for every dollar spent on care for Medicare patients. Simply switching to prices based on artificially low Medicare payment rates would take away vital resources from already struggling communities, which would seriously impede access to care. Hospitals would not have the resources to keep our doors open, innovate to adapt to a rapidly changing field and to maintain the services that communities need and expect.

Recent data from the National Health Expenditure Report published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in December 2018 show that the growth in hospital services prices was only 1.7% in 2017. Similarly, an Altarum Center report for the value of health care revealed Spending growth in 2018 was lower than all other categories of services, including medical and clinical services and prescription drugs.

The AHA is committed to improving patient access to information on the price of their care. It is important for people to understand how much they will have to pay for their care, especially their reimbursable expenses. However, hospitals, health systems and other providers do not always have access to detailed data on the amounts of health care benefits and cost-sharing with recipients; insurers hold this information instead. We are encouraged by the growing ability of providers and insurers to work together to develop tools they can use to respond to patients' requests for pricing information. "

You can read the New York Times report HERE.