Health Care Leaders Urge Legislature to End State's Code Blue Health Care Crisis By June 1
Posted on: Thursday, 3 May 2007, 15:00 CDT
LANSING, Mich., May 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Michigan hospital officials, physicians, long-term care and mental health providers gathered in front of the state Capitol today to implore the Legislature to immediately solve the state's budget crisis and reject staggering Medicaid cuts that will take effect June 1 absent a budget solution.
"This is truly a matter of life and death," said Spencer Johnson, president of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA), which represents all of the state's 146 nonprofit community hospitals. "Each and every state lawmaker has the lives and livelihoods of thousands of Michigan residents in his and her hands. Every legislator who votes to cut Medicaid once again is voting to end health care to literally thousands of children, seniors and disabled residents. Every legislator who votes to cut Medicaid once again is signing a layoff notice to thousands of Michigan residents who will lose their jobs in health care."
"Decisions have consequences," said AppaRao Mukkamala, MD, president of the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS). "Lives are being placed in terrible danger by not addressing the realities of Medicaid."
"When a physician has no choice but to close the doors and leave a community, everyone losses access to health care," Dr. Mukkamala said. "We already have cut Medicaid to the bone. Any more cuts will go into the marrow."
Late last week, after the Legislature proposed additional deep cuts to Medicaid for this year, a Code Blue was declared for Michigan's health care community. Code Blue means human lives and patient safety are in imminent danger.
On Monday, Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced that she will be forced to slash Medicaid effective June 1 if the Legislature fails to increase revenues for the state budget by that date. Since fiscal year 2001, the governor and Legislature have cut state spending by more than $3.3 billion. Since the late 1990s, more than $686 million has been slashed from Michigan hospitals, as well as, significant cutbacks in physician, long-term care and mental health reimbursement rates.
The cuts are being proposed at a time when Michigan's Medicaid caseload continues to hover at near record highs of 1.6 million people -- a staggering 41 percent increase since 1999.
Additional health care cuts will stifle Michigan's economic recovery. Currently, health care is one of the few sectors creating new jobs for Michigan residents. A February 2005 study by Michigan State University's Institute for Public Policy and Social Research and the Institute for Health Care Studies found that 6,300 Michigan jobs would be lost if the state cut Medicaid by $100 million, which would result in an additional $131 million loss in federal revenues.
According to a February survey of Michigan hospitals by the MHA, additional deep cuts to state health care programs could terminate jobs and essential health care services:
-- Roughly 4,000 Michigan residents currently working in health care will lose their jobs. -- 84 percent of hospitals will abandon or delay capital projects that create hundreds of good construction jobs resulting in improved buildings and technologies to meet today's patient safety and quality standards. -- 65 percent of hospitals will reduce community-based programs that help people stop smoking, maintain healthier diets and exercise more. -- OB/GYN clinics for the uninsured and under-insured will be closed. -- Community-based programs aimed at reducing Michigan's alarming rates of diabetes will be terminated. -- Worst of all -- communities reliant on hospitals for health care and employment may be left without either.
"The Legislature can vote to protect health care jobs or eliminate health care jobs. They can vote to protect health care services or tell thousands of children, elderly and disabled Michigan citizens that they no longer have any care," said Jon Reardon, board chair of the Health Care Association of Michigan, which provides nursing and long-term care to 42,000 number of Michigan citizens. "The Legislature must immediately address the state structural budget deficit in order to protect basic health care services for our most frail and deserving citizens and thousands of Michigan jobs."
"We serve extremely vulnerable and critically ill individuals in the community every day. We are their safety net," said Dan Russell, Chief Executive Officer of the Genesee County Community Mental Health. "It is inevitable, if sufficient revenues and a budget solution do not prevent the proposed cut on June 1, the mentally ill and developmentally disabled will bear the brunt of the Legislature's inaction."
Michigan Health & Hospital Association
CONTACT: Lori Latham, MHA, +1-517-703-8605, or David Fox, MSMS,+1-517-336-5731, or Elizabeth Thomas, HCAM, +1-517-281-4647, Amy Zaagman,MACMHB, +1-517-374-6848, all of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association
Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire
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