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July 10, 2009

Readers' Forum for 7.11

Union should fix insurance mess with Anthem



I received an interesting letter last week from David Doerr, president and CEO of Union Hospital. In the letter he blames Anthem and the insurance industry as a whole for not reaching an agreement in contract negotiations. Unless a contract is reached, several people in the Wabash Valley will not have their insurance accepted at Union Hospital. This includes the Vigo County School Corp., the employees of the Tribune-Star and AET Films, among others.

Mr. Doerr states that Anthem’s latest offer “would impose a multi-million dollar loss over the next three years on Union Hospital.” He also says that the hospital is “committed to keeping healthcare costs as low as possible.” Well, Mr. Doerr, this is simply not true. While you negotiated with the residents of Collett Park about building your “Taj Mahal,” your staff admitted they were building a hospital with only private rooms. When questioned about the expense, they said not to worry that the insurance would cover a private room if semi-private rooms were not available.

They were told then that the cost of health care was outrageous and we wanted to be able to choose not to have our self-insured companies and universities pay for these services. We were told it was the “wave of the future,” and if you were to stay competitive you had to do it.

Maybe the new hospital you are building is part of the reason your costs have increased and Anthem doesn’t want any part of it. And others should be aware as well. Future contract renewals with other insurance companies could result in the same problem.

Another issue causing increased costs is that Union Hospital will provide services for a person that cannot pay and write off the balance due. Then expect insurance companies to pick up the tab for the next person, overcharging for everything and therefore covering the cost of everyone. This means that because I have insurance I have to pay more than the person next to me that doesn’t have insurance, and that is not how a capitalistic market works.

Of course you will eventually lose customers. So to “stay competitive,” maybe you should consider reducing your costs, for everyone, including those of us with insurance, and set up your new hospital so that it really does keep costs down, not unnecessary amenities up.

I am no fan of insurance companies, and wish the whole system would go away and we all could pay for the services ourselves. This would drive costs down so that we all could afford them, without insurance. But, Mr. Doerr, you need to do your part, be part of this community, and care about this community. You say in your letter, that “there is a good chance our contract will end and Union Hospital will be forced out of Anthem’s network,” implying that’s a bad thing. To me, seems like we should just come in, say we don’t have insurance and receive our services for free.

And thanks for the phone call to my home during dinner the other night. An agent, who doesn’t know you and more than likely doesn’t work for the hospital, called to make sure I received your letter. When I asked to speak directly to you she admitted she didn’t have access to you, but someone representing the hospital could call me back. No, thank you. It’s your job to fix this mess that you have created. Do it.

— Lauren Rice

Terre Haute



Goodwill, Dell team up for recycling



Dell and Goodwill Industries have partnered to give residents a free and convenient way to recycle their unwanted computer equipment.

You can now drop off your old computer equipment at any Goodwill location in the Wabash Valley. Our program accepts computers, monitors and other related equipment of any brand and in any condition for recycling. Visit our Web site at www.wvgoodwill.org for more information about the free program and a list of acceptable items.

— Bill Tennis

Executive Director

Wabash Valley

Goodwill Industries

Terre Haute

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