Curmudgeon's Corner

According to Guy Boulton’s article in the July 7, 2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Advanced Healthcare physician group has postponed its vote on its pending acquisition by Aurora Health Care.

It is my opinion that this can only be seen as good news by those of us in the Germantown-Menomonee Falls area.

My earlier Blogs have indicated my belief that this combination could eventually cause us to lose Community Memorial Hospital. It appears now that another combination may be coming together. I believe this would give us the best outcome for which we could hope in this age of health care consolidation.

In this potential scenario, the Froedtert & Community Health Group along with the Columbia St. Mary’s group would become somehow affiliated with Advanced Healthcare. This would create a viable alternative health care system to that which Aurora is amassing. We patients would see the referral patterns and hospital admitting patterns to which we’re accustomed, and those would continue indefinitely into the future.

This would likely mean that Aurora would not be building a hospital somewhere on the northern Milwaukee metro landscape; it is in continuing discussions with the Synergy system which has a new hospital in Jackson. We would continue to experience a more community-driven kind of health care from those whom we’re already using for such services.

We are in the midst of debate on just how we ought to proceed in the “war” on double-digit health care cost increases. I don’t see how a larger Aurora would help us in that battle. Bigger systems mean fewer systems…and that more likely translates into lessening of downward price trends. When our care systems are limited, we tend to see higher prices since there is less competition, more debt service and less downward pressure on prices. This is debatable however. Wouldn't you prefer the debate be engaged before we’ve eliminated a competitive system than after, when no alternatives exist?