Advocacy Alert

Our patients, our colleagues, and our community need your help. To close a severe budget shortfall, Governor Malloy targeted health care as one area to substantially trim state funding.  His proposal calls for unprecedented cuts to patient care reimbursements that, over the next two years, total more than $550 million to hospitals statewide and $30 million specifically to Western Connecticut Health Network.

These cuts could devastate hospitals and agencies that provide health and human services. Every patient, physician, hospital employee and community in the state will feel the impact. We will have to cut care. We will have to cut our workforce and our local economy will suffer as a result. It only takes a minute to help. Log onto ProtectmyHospitalCT.Org and send a message to legislators TODAY to oppose these cuts to patient care.

We challenge some of the Governor’s assumptions:

• The Governor indicates that hospitals can easily absorb the cuts because of additional revenue we will receive from the Affordable Health Care Act through newly insured patients. The fact is the care we provide for patients on government-sponsored plans, such as Medicare and Medicaid, will likely receive the lowest reimbursements, and will not cover the cost of the services we provide. In 2012, WCHN subsidized this care by $25 million.
• The Governor points to “strong” hospital earnings in 2012. The fact is, at Western Connecticut Health Network, we missed our budget last year by $7 million and did not achieve the 3% operating margin we typically need to receive the best credit rating. To bolster our earnings, we sold our outpatient dialysis service and our retail pharmacy, and captured nearly 60% of our earnings from investment performance. As we look forward, we can’t count on our investments to grow at the same rate each year and we don’t have any more services to sell.
• Suggest he look to how state government is operating for savings. We don’t propose a budget with a 9% increase in spending rather we operate from a zero-based budget each year. We don’t propose spending money on a film school in Stamford and other unnecessary initiatives when we are repeatedly operating in the red. We make the hard decision to outsource, sell businesses and reduce our workforce rather than guarantee jobs and benefits in return for votes.

With these facts and our mission in mind, please consider making your voice heard on the real impact of the proposed cuts on our Network and our communities.

We will have to cut care. For Western Connecticut Health Network, the $30 million reduction in reimbursements - added to the million dollars in new taxes and the $4.8 million in cuts we faced in December – will force us to scale back on programs and services. We will be forced to examine every program we offer, including those that we provide to low-income families and those in need of our mental health services.  These funds, the ones that reimburse us for providing care to the sick and the poor, are the ones that are being severely reduced. It seems terribly unfortunate that many of the patients who need care most are those who lose care first.

The proposed budget cuts will undermine what we’ve all worked hard to achieve over the last several years, growing our Network by removing costs from our system and preserving quality. Together we have built a Network comprising comprehensive programs and services that make care and support easy and accessible.  Now we will lead the effort to protect our community’s healthcare resources and preserve what we’ve built.

We will have to cut jobs. If we are forced to cut programs and services, we cannot sustain our current levels of employment. Our Network has made numerous changes over the last few years to avoid a major workforce reduction. Among our actions, we reorganized and consolidated network functions and transferred ownership of others.  We retired programs that are not essential to patient care and renegotiated contracts with vendors to stretch our resources while continuing to provide the right services with the right staff levels.  All of these efforts cannot overcome a $30 million obstacle.  We would need to reduce our overall staff by hundreds of employee positions, something we have worked hard to avoid throughout our recent budgetary challenges.

Our communities will suffer. If we must cut jobs, the ripple effect will be felt beyond our immediate workforce. Every job we lose affects every community where we live. As one of the largest employers in Fairfield County, our employees contribute significantly to their community’s economy.  Unemployed people have fewer dollars to spend to support local business and charities.  Job cuts within our Network would add to Connecticut’s unemployment rate, which is already higher than the national unemployment rate.  If the Governor’s proposed budget forces us to cut programs and jobs, in many ways our communities will be the ultimate losers.

What can you do as a physician? The future of our state’s healthcare system – and our Network’s mission – is at stake. Please join with us to protect our Network and our patients. There are three ways you can help by letting your voice be heard.

• Go to www.protectmyhospitalct.org to send a message to your legislators electronically. You can use any of the three message options presented or personalize the message. 
• Pick up a postcard at any information desk, fill it out with your name and address including zip code (we need that information to identify your particular legislators) and leave at any information desk for us to mail.
• When you meet or speak with a legislator, please voice your opinion on this matter by asking them to oppose a budget that harms patient care and our Network.

We will continue to provide you with information and steps you can take to join us to fight the Governor’s budget proposal.  Your voice as a WCHN physician and your commitment to our mission is needed now more than ever. Thank you for your help with this critical effort.

John Murphy, MD, President and CEO,
Western Connecticut Health Network

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