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In This Issue:
BWH President Gary Gottlieb, MD, MBA, entertained questions from employees following his formal presentation. The following are excerpts from that exchange.
Q: How do we foresee the future with the ACGME set of recommendations around limiting resident work hours?
A: Gottlieb: We are working right now to try and figure out what pieces of work need to be done by whom. We need to determine what incremental personnel are necessary in order to meet the new requirements in a way that is consistent with the best possible care for our patients while supporting the educational mission of our programs, and while not harming the hospital financially.
Q: How will the recent state and federal budget cuts impact us here at BWH?
A: Gottlieb: That’s an excellent question. Basically, there are several facets to the reductions in payment that we are already facing – some from the federal government and some from the state government.
On the federal side, the continuing implementation of the balanced budget amendment of 1997 is further reducing payments from Medicare. Also on the federal side, the NIH’s proposed budget for FY04 projects expects only a two percent increase. As existing grants are usually funded for three to five years at a time, with each year incorporating cost of living increases, a two percent increase translates into an overall reduction.
The other piece is the state budget. The state budget’s impact on us is very complicated. First, a sizable number of people are affected by decreased funding to the Departments of Mental Health and Public Health, causing our Emergency Department and others in the state to become even more substantial multifaceted health and social resources for our community.
Additionally, about 50,000 people will lose their Mass Health benefit and be moved into the Free Care Pool. The potential burden of funding the shortfall that this will cause in the Pool combined with the state’s three to five percent reduction in Medicaid payments will challenge us financially.