Steward, hospital industry titans butt heads on ballot question

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/03/08/hospital-industry-splits-over-controversial-ballot-question/Kq0BF7FErO2yKlIyr5XiiI/story.html



The president of Steward Health Care System-owned Norwood Hospital (above) said payment disparities between higher-priced teaching hospitals and their lower-priced competitors are a major threat to the survival of community hospitals.

Steward, hospital industry titans butt heads on ballot question
By Priyanka Dayal McCluskey Globe Staff
March 09, 2016

Steward Health Care System is breaking ranks with the rest of the hospital industry and throwing its support behind a controversial ballot proposal to take hundreds of millions of dollars from the state’s wealthiest hospitals and give them to lower-paid community hospitals.

The measure, pushed by the Service Employees International Union, would drastically change the way hospitals are paid and faces strong opposition from the hospital industry’s main trade group, the Massachusetts Hospital Association.

But at a public hearing at the State House on Tuesday, Kim Bassett, president of Steward-owned Norwood Hospital, said payment disparities between higher-priced teaching hospitals and their lower-priced competitors are a major threat to the survival of community hospitals and require “immediate intervention.”

The SEIU proposal would regulate payments between insurance companies and hospitals, cutting payments to the priciest hospitals while boosting payments for lower-paid community hospitals. Backers of the initiative need to collect more signatures this summer before the question can make it to the November ballot.