AG's review reassuring.Byline: The Register-Guard Attorney General Hardy Myers' review of the proposed partnership between McKenzie-Willamette Hospital and Triad Hospitals Triad Hospitals is a Fortune 500 company based in Plano, Texas. It operates 54 hospitals in the United States. In February 2007 it received a merger/buyout offer from another company, and then in March 2007 it received a superior merger/buyout offer from Community Health Systems of Inc. has relieved some anxieties about what the deal would mean for health care services in Lane County. The review was necessary to ensure that the public's half-century investment in McKenzie-Willamette is protected, and was also useful as a means of obtaining specific commitments in the areas of governance and patient care. Myers' office examined the partnership under the authority of a statute enacted in 1997, which requires the attorney general's approval when the assets of a public-benefit corporation are transferred to a for-profit organization. Since McKenzie-Willamette opened in 1955, the public has assisted the hospital through charitable giving and tax exemptions tax exemption, immunity from the requirement of paying taxes. Federal, state, and usually local law provide exemption from taxation for a wide variety of organizations, usually not-for-profit, such as churches, colleges, universities, health care providers, various . Myers' responsibility - never before exercised in a case like this one - was to ensure that the public interest will be preserved. In the course of the review, it became clear that the partnership with Triad offers McKenzie-Willamette a desperately needed lifeline life·line n. 1. a. An anchored line thrown as a support to someone falling or drowning. b. A line shot to a ship in distress. c. A line used to raise and lower deep-sea divers. 2. . Revenues increased steeply from 2000 to 2002, Myers noted, but the hospital lost $2.4 million last year and an additional $3.1 million through May of this year. McKenzie-Willamette explored partnership arrangements with eight for-profit and nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. hospital companies, but only Triad agreed to make a deal. Without a well-capitalized partner, McKenzie-Willamette would probably fold, leaving the Eugene-Springfield area dependent on a single company, PeaceHealth, for hospital services. Myers' charge was not to evaluate the partnership's necessity, but its fairness - and he concluded that it would be fair. Triad will bring $85 million in cash to the deal, while McKenzie-Willamette will contribute land, buildings, equipment and other assets other assets Assets of relatively small value. For financial reporting purposes, firms frequently combine small assets into a single category rather than listing each item separately. valued at $34 million. McKenzie-Willamette will receive $13.5 million for its pension fund and to retire debts, bringing the hospital's net contribution to $20.5 million. The attorney general found that the hospital's assets had been appropriately valued. Addressing two of the primary concerns raised in public comments about the partnership, Myers asked that the agreements between McKenzie-Willamette and Triad specify that the new hospital will not reduce service to Medicare and Medicaid Medicare and Medicaid U.S. government programs in effect since 1966. Medicare covers most people 65 or older and those with long-term disabilities. Part A, a hospital insurance plan, also pays for home health visits and hospice care. patients. McKenzie-Willamette's policies for the treatment of indigent indigent 1) n. a person so poor and needy that he/she cannot provide the necessities of life (food, clothing, decent shelter) for himself/herself. 2) n. one without sufficient income to afford a lawyer for defense in a criminal case. patients will be adopted by the new hospital. In addition, a person with a "demonstrated concern about community health care needs" will be placed on the nominating committee A nominating committee is a group formed usually from inside the membership of an organization for the purpose of nominating candidates for office within the organization. It works similarly to an electoral college, the main difference being that the available candidates, either for the hospital's governing board Noun 1. governing board - a board that manages the affairs of an institution board - a committee having supervisory powers; "the board has seven members" . An agreement that allows McKenzie-Willamette to survive in some form, thereby ensuring that people in the Eugene-Springfield area continue to be able to choose between competing hospitals, is in the community's best interest. It's important that the new hospital treat its share of Medicare, Medicaid and uninsured patients, rather than shifting too much of the burden for undercompensated and uncompensated care uncompensated care, n health care services provided by a hospital, physician, dental professional, or other health care professional for which no charge is made and for which no payment is expected. to PeaceHealth. The attorney general's review found that the McKenzie-Triad partnership protects the public interest in those respects and others, and should be allowed to proceed. The hospital industry in Eugene-Springfield is undergoing rapid and profound change, raising many apprehensions about the future of health care. The attorney general's review was a helpful way to put some of those apprehensions to rest. |
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