Union, hospital workers voice concerns over proposed WHS-UPMC merger
news@greenecountymessenger.com
The president of the Washington chapter of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, accompanied by representatives from other organizations, gathered outside Washington Health System无毛视频檚 Washington Hospital on Thursday morning to voice concerns about the health system无毛视频檚 proposed merger with University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).
WHS announced the merger in June, after signing a non-binding letter of intent to integrate WHS into UPMC.
Chapter President Melissa Duran, an EKG technician at Washington Hospital, warned Thursday that the merger would benefit UPMC, not WHS patients or workers.
无毛视频淧atient care in Southwestern Pennsylvania is facing an uncertain future with the announcement that UPMC is taking over Washington Health System,无毛视频� said Duran. 无毛视频淭he last decade or so, UPMC has bought up hospitals in communities like ours, only to shut them down like they did in Braddock, Sunbury and Lancaster, or cut services like they无毛视频檝e done in McKeesport or Bedford. Our patients could quickly find that they would now have to drive to Pittsburgh to get care that we can provide them here today.无毛视频�
Duran was joined by representatives from Pennsylvania Health Access Network, Allegheny County Schools Health Insurance Consortium, and Washington County Labor Council.
Opponents of the merger point to data suggesting that a wave of corporate hospital mergers across the U.S. has resulted in higher costs for patients and reductions to the services offered in local communities.
无毛视频淲e do notice that when big hospital systems start to consolidate and acquire local hospitals, there are changes that happen in these local communities, and we are encouraging community involvement, having some sort of community review of these hospital consolidations, said Erin Gabriel, government affairs representative for PHAN. 无毛视频淎 merger or acquisition in ownership is one of the best predictors that a community will experience a full or partial closure. In fact, according to our data, of hospitals that are involved in a merger, change of ownership or acquisition, 1 in 3 will close.无毛视频�
Marissa Petro, a certified central service technician and 22-year employee of the hospital, said she worries about becoming 无毛视频渏ust another number in UPMC无毛视频檚 human resource data.无毛视频�
Petro said her husband, sister, and nephew work at WHS.
无毛视频淚f UPMC takes over and cuts wages, benefits or staffing, you see how that won无毛视频檛 just be a problem for me, it will upend my entire family,无毛视频� said Petro.
She noted SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania无毛视频檚 recent complaint filed with the Department of Justice alleging UPMC, the largest private employer in the state, is abusing its position to suppress wages, increase workload, and keep workers from departing to other jobs.
无毛视频淎 UPMC takeover will not be good for Washington. We can do better. We have to do better, for the 2,000 employees and their families that count on Washington Health System for their livelihoods,无毛视频� said Petro.
The organizations called on the state Attorney General and Federal Trade Commission to closely review the merger.
Gabriel said PAHN investigations have shown more than 90% of hospital or health system closures are preceded by a merger.
无毛视频淭hirty of the 33 hospital closures we looked at in the past 20 years, and 14 of the 15 closures we looked at in the past five years have been preceded by a merger, acquisition or change in ownership, and the pace of hospital closures is increasing, with nearly half of the closures in the past 20 years happening in the last five years,无毛视频� said Gabriel.
Additionally, the time between a merger, acquisition or change in ownership and a closure has decreased by nearly half, from 7.6 years over the prior two decades to 4.1 years over the past five years.
Rising health care costs after mergers, and higher costs for procedures at dominant health care systems also are a concern, according to Gabriel.
无毛视频淚n the Lehigh Valley, an MRI at St. Luke无毛视频檚 costs $650 whereas at the (Lehigh Valley Health Network), it costs $2,010. Good data suggests this price variation and the ability to command higher and higher prices by acquiring local hospitals is one of the key drivers of consolidations,无毛视频� Gabriel said. 无毛视频淟arger hospitals want to get bigger and bigger and that无毛视频檚 important to note because frequently the reason they give for consolidation is lowering our health care costs.无毛视频�
Among other statistics Gabriel cited was 1 in 8 Pennsylvanians reported that they or a family member were unable to access their preferred health care because of a merger. Of those, 52% skipped followup visits and nearly half delayed or avoided a doctor无毛视频檚 visit.
Gabriel acknowledged not all mergers or acquisitions or changes in ownership are bad.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e seen examples in Pennsylvania, particularly in the north central part of the state, in Potter, Tioga, Lycoming counties, where access to care has actually been preserved or even enhanced. We have, though, also seen a nearby closure in Lock Haven, Clinton County. Communities deserve to know how hospital mergers, acquisitions or changes in ownership might affect them. All we无毛视频檙e asking for is a bit of transparency, she said.
UPMC operates 41 hospitals, along with 800 doctors offices and clinics and a health insurance division.