Task force puts IHC under the microscope
Lawmakers get an earful at marathon meeting
No matter the opinions, what clearly emerged is the monumental task before the group, even given its generous two-year deadline to reach a conclusion and its ample budget of $300,000.
"This is a horrendous list of items to be looked at," said Rep. Stephen Clark, R-Provo. "We are talking about some major, major issues," with the potential for significant impact on Utah residents.
Much of the five-hour meeting, in fact, centered on what topics the task force should embrace for particular areas of study emphasis, drawing on input from the Utah Medical Association, the Utah Hospital Association, IHC itself and its competitors.
"IHC is clearly a dominant factor in the marketplace," said Kent Mitchie, the state's insurance commissioner, who added that as the task force begins its scrutiny of health care in Utah, several factors merit consideration.
"If it is a community asset, does the government have a role" in exercising authority to ensure accountability and oversight?
"The board of trustees are pillars of the community, but are they accountable to anybody?"
That issue of accountability, market penetration and allegations of IHC's exclusive practices that impede patient access and squeeze out other health-care providers led to the "firestorm" in the past legislative session that eventually prompted the formation of the task force.
While IHC officials adamantly deny they enjoy monopolistic control of the market, do not engage in heavy-handed debt collection practices or exclude other practitioners, they do concede their size prompts criticism, and the glare of attention has them instituting changes.
"Clearly the last legislative session showed us our bigness has had us acting in ways that are disruptive," said Bill Nelson, IHC's president and chief executive officer.
"We want to be gentler, kinder and better for our community."
Nelson paraded a bevy of statistics before the task force members and standing-room-only crowd of public onlookers, including referencing a survey performed by a law firm that took a sampling of bankruptcy records from 2003.
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