St. John makes offer to take over OSUMC

[Jonette]

Tentative agreement reached on OSU Medical Center


By KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer
Published: 12/5/2008  12:00 AM
Last Modified: 12/5/2008  5:43 PM

St. John Health System announced Friday it has agreed in principle to serve as the contracted management services provider to operate OSU Medical Center, the Tulsa World has learned.

Lex Anderson, St. John Health System chief financial officer, said it took the past week to ensure that state and local leaders all understood what St. John was agreeing to do.

"This is a very complex arrangement with a lot of different parties involved," he said.

Under the agreement, Tulsa County and the city of Tulsa will create a public trust to take title to the hospital and fund it. Ardent Health Services, which owns the hospital, has agreed to donate it to the public trust.

Anderson said state officials would release the financial details of the deal.

However, sources close to the issue indicated the state would provide $28 million in operation costs in the first year and $5 million each of the following four years. It would also provide $25 million in capital costs for facility improvements.

Gov. Brad Henry announced last week that a tentative agreement had been reached to keep OSU Medical Center open and the OSU medical residency program in place there.

Details weren't released then until all negotiating parties could get approval from their governing entities.

Said Anderson, "OSU deserves a lot of credit. This has not been easy."


By KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer

[brunoflipper]

this done, for now.
in five years, we'll have the same problems but at least ardent is off the hook. we've now all taken this on as a burden, which is fine, except the state will continue to **** tulsa...

[Jonette]

I know, I am having the same suspicions as you flipp. They keep talking about the first couple of years or so, and then what?

Kinda left up to chance, and yes, sounds like the state will continue to screw Tulsa at that point.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm time will tell.

[Jonette]

It will also be interesting to see how they spend the facility improvement money also.




tick.tick.tick.....time will tell.Gonna be an interesting ride...............






[8D]

[Jonette]

Accord reached for OSU hospital
The arrangement could serve as a model for delivering affordable health care, officials say.


 
By TOM LINDLEY World Capitol Bureau
Published: 12/6/2008  12:00 AM
Last Modified: 12/6/2008  2:33 AM

Tulsa and state officials finalized an agreement Friday they say will allow the OSU Medical Center to remain open, preserve its medical residency program and stave off an indigent health-care crisis.

"This initiative will help address the most significant health-care challenges in the Tulsa area," Gov. Brad Henry said in a statement.

Pending legislative action, the hospital could be transferred from Ardent Health Services' ownership to St. John Health System as early as March.

Although a tentative agreement was announced 10 days ago, Lex Anderson, St. John Health System chief financial officer, said it took the past week to ensure that state and local leaders all understood what St. John was agreeing to do.

Oklahoma State University President Burns Hargis said in a press release that he was grateful to state and local leaders who worked through an assortment of complex issues "to preserve the OSU residency program and this critical source of physicians for Oklahoma as well as to ensure the availability of indigent health care in Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma."

Negotiators called it a complex arrangement that could serve as a national model for delivering comprehensive and affordable health care.

"It's really innovative in that it addresses both short-term and long-term issues," State Treasurer Scott Meacham said.

One unique aspect of the plan involves enrolling as many as 20,000 eligible Tulsans in Insure Oklahoma, a state-operated insurance premium assistance program. The state said its share of the Tulsa enrollment effort could be as much as $50 million annually and that the plan would relieve the pressures of uncompensated care at OSU Medical Center and other Tulsa hospitals.

"If we are really going to address health care in the future, this type of arrangement is important," said House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa.

Benge and Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, who led the state's negotiating team along with Meacham, also agreed to a front-loaded $48 million operating subsidy over five years to allow time for St. John to restore the hospital to profitability.

In the first year, the state will provide $28 million, including $20 million it previously dedicated to OSU for capital improvements at the hospital, $3 million that Ardent will return as its share of medical education funds and $5 million from the state's general revenue fund.

The state also agreed to contribute $5 million annually for operational expenses in the subsequent four years and another $2.5 million annually for four years to maximize the amount of revenue the state gets for federally qualified health centers.

Finally, the state also will allocate a $25 million bond issue to fund capital improvements at the hospital, using tobacco tax revenue dedicated to OSU to make payments on the bond.

In return, the Kaiser Family Foundation and St. John have agreed to provide $7 million a year for five years, much of it going to enhance the viability of the hospital through health-care vouchers and to help enroll more Tulsans in Insure Oklahoma.

"This will require the aggressive help of the Health Care Authority and the governor's office to make sure it works as smoothly as possible and becomes a national model," said Ken Levit, executive director of the Kaiser Foundation.

Meacham called the Insure Oklahoma component critical to solving Tulsa's longstanding indigent-care problem.

"We all believe the underlying problem is really the lack of insurance," he said.

Meacham said the state will take aggressive steps to enroll many of Tulsa's uninsured residents in Insure Oklahoma when they seek emergency or clinical care.

"It will be an intensive, grass-roots, point-of-sale concept that for now will just target Tulsa," Meacham said. "If it is successful there, it could be done statewide if we get more funding."

Insure Oklahoma was enacted in 2004 and began operation in 2005 to provide premium subsidies to small employers with low-wage workers and to individuals whose income did not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

About 16,000 Oklahomans have insurance through Insure Oklahoma, and Health Care Authority officials, who administer the program, say it has enough revenue to cover about 40,000 people.

Another major hurdle in the Tulsa hospital plan was cleared when Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor told state leaders that the city of Tulsa would be willing to take title to the hospital and fund it through a public trust. Discussions were still under way late this week to work out details of that arrangement.

Ardent, which said it was on the verge of closing the hospital, has offered to turn over the hospital to the trust.

"It's been a long time coming to get to this point," Benge said. "I feel good about the agreement we have."World staff writer Kim Archer contributed to this story.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Tom Lindley (405) 528-2465
tom.lindley@tulsaworld.com


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Highlights of the Tulsa hospital plan:

Ardent Health Services donates the OSU Medical Center to a Tulsa trust, which contracts with St. John Health System to operate the hospital.

The state, pending legislative approval, will provide $48 million over five years to subsidize operating costs at the hospital.

Up to $50 million could be made available annually through Insure Oklahoma to provide insurance premium assistance for as many as 20,000 eligible Tulsans.

The Kaiser Family Foundation and St. John will provide $35 million over five years for operating expenses at OSU Medical Center.

By TOM LINDLEY World Capitol Bureau




Insure Oklahoma is a great program and is perfect for this plan.
Now they just have to convince the uninsured to enroll and pay the lower premiums.




[:O]

[guido911]

OSU medical Center is sending out mailers requesting DO's to send patients their way.

[tim huntzinger]

Surprised the Warrens did not step up.  Oh, that is right, their big contribution lately were the pink bicycles on Rivertrails and unmitigated support for The Channels.

[guido911]

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

Surprised the Warrens did not step up.  Oh, that is right, their big contribution lately were the pink bicycles on Rivertrails and unmitigated support for The Channels.

How many millions in philanthropic money have you given?

[tim huntzinger]

quote:Originally posted by guido911

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

Surprised the Warrens did not step up.  Oh, that is right, their big contribution lately were the pink bicycles on Rivertrails and unmitigated support for The Channels.

How many millions in philanthropic money have you given?

Gave like eleven years of my life making jack squat in the non-profit world; so why don't you jump off this and into some of that and if you want more I have it.

[guido911]

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

quote:Originally posted by guido911

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

Surprised the Warrens did not step up.  Oh, that is right, their big contribution lately were the pink bicycles on Rivertrails and unmitigated support for The Channels.

How many millions in philanthropic money have you given?

Gave like eleven years of my life making jack squat in the non-profit world; so why don't you jump off this and into some of that and if you want more I have it.

So the answer is "no", you have not given millions of dollars in philanthropic money. Oh, but I am sure your years working for non-profits amounts to millions of dollars.

[tim huntzinger]

quote:Originally posted by guido911

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

quote:Originally posted by guido911

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

Surprised the Warrens did not step up.  Oh, that is right, their big contribution lately were the pink bicycles on Rivertrails and unmitigated support for The Channels.

How many millions in philanthropic money have you given?

Gave like eleven years of my life making jack squat in the non-profit world; so why don't you jump off this and into some of that and if you want more I have it.

So the answer is "no", you have not given millions of dollars in philanthropic money. Oh, but I am sure your years working for non-profits amounts to millions of dollars.

So the answer is 'yes,' you really want to make me the issue of a stupid broadside criticism of Lil Mr. Warren.  Tell me this what did Lil Mr. Warren do to earn them millions of dollars? Get born?  Shove off, dude.  Saint Francis is weak, St. Johns cares.  Case close.

[sgrizzle]

Warren won't touch it because it's not pink and it's north of 61st.

[Jonette]

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!

This has turned into a REAL HOT topic between the two of you.

I agree with Tim. St Francis is weak and St John stepped up and jumped in and helped really helped fix the indigent care problem we were dealing with "North of 61st" !![:O]


I LOVE IT!!!!

[:O]

[guido911]

quote:Originally posted by Jonette

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!

This has turned into a REAL HOT topic between the two of you.

I agree with Tim. St Francis is weak and St John stepped up and jumped in and helped really helped fix the indigent care problem we were dealing with "North of 61st" !![:O]


I LOVE IT!!!!

[:O]

So St. Francis is now "weak" because it would not bail out OSU Med but St. John's did. As for this being a "REAL HOT topic", it really is not because I believe something had to be done to save OSU Med. It's a hot topic because some people in this forum feel that the wealthy are required to give money to all causes and, if they do not, they are labeled essentially as deadbeats.

[Jonette]

Yes St. Francis is weak, the only thing they were about to do was take the residents away from OSU Med. Ctr. Not a real good rescue. I am not the only one who feels this way. Just move the services further south and the poor have no way to get to healthcare.

And yes, I do think the wealthy should help when things are getting rough. For the most part they are out of touch and have no idea how tough life can be when money is a serious object. They take things for granted and other people have to scrape by just moving paycheck to paycheck.

Basically there are millions of people who are one paycheck away from living under a bridge. That's the kind of things the wealthy can help with.Unfortunately money makes the world go round. Most people just struggle to eat every day. One meal at a time. What tomorrow brings, well we'll see tomorrow.


Not deadbeats, just selfish and greedy. Their world barely moves beyond the tip of their noses.

One time I needed help in a financial bind and the councelor asked me if I could ask my parents for money. "NO" They don't have any. Can you ask a Aunt, Uncle, Grandparent, Sister, Brother?   "NO" "Noone I know has any money." There is no lifeline on our lives. No rich uncle. No Grandparent with money. NO ONE!!

If I lose my job today and am unable to find one within a month, it's under a bridge for me and my kids. That's what it's like to have no money or resources. Most wealthy people have not got a CLUE!!! They can help and should. They should also pay more taxes. Maybe just the same percentage as the working poor. The poor don't have deductions to write off, they only get the standard deduction. No tax breaks for them. Just pay it all.

There's my rant. I feel better.


Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that's mine.



[}:)]


P.S. I have a college education. In case you were wondering.