July 25, 1996 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð HOUSE H8527 that were completed by the Center for Michigan hospitals are leading the not penalize low-cost areas, like west Health Affairs and the Michigan Health State and the Nation in developing Michigan, as they try to develop alter- and Hospital Association regarding the low-cost, quality hospital care. The en- natives to fee-for-service coverage. excellent health care that is delivered tire health care community is working f in my district and throughout west together in west Michigan to find ways The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a Michigan. The studies show that west to lower the cost of health care, while previous order of the House, the gentle- Michigan hospitals have lower costs still increasing the quality of the serv- woman from the District of Columbia while also delivering health care that ices delivered. I applaud health care [Ms. NORTON] is recognized for 5 min- is consistently equal to or better than providers in my region for the innova- utes. the expected rates for lengths of stay tion and leadership that they have [Ms. NORTON addressed the House. demonstrated. And I would like to and mortality. These factors combined Her remarks will appear hereafter in highlight two hospitals in the Third help to illustrate the fact that health the Extensions of Remarks.] care in west Michigan is both low in District, Blodgett Memorial Medical f cost and high in quality, and that we Center and Butterworth Hospital, for can serve as a model for national ef- being recognized for the second year in The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a forts to reform our health care system. a row as one of the top 100 hospitals in previous order of the House, the gen- Over the past 10 years, we have seen the Nation. Hospitals included in this tleman from North Carolina [Mr. national consumer health care prices report, which is conducted by HCIA, JONES] is recognized for 5 minutes. increasing significantly. Last year's in- Inc. and Mercer Health Care Consult- [Mr. JONES addressed the House. His crease in consumer health care prices ing, reduced expenses per adjusted dis- remarks will appear hereafter in the of 4.5 percent was the lowest in 22 charge, lowered mortality, and cut Extensions of Remarks.] years, but this increase is still nearly length of stay. If all hospitals emulated f two times the increase in overall this performance, hospital expenses The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a consumer prices. So you can under- would decline by 17 percent, inpatient previous order of the House, the gen- stand why a report illustrating the low mortality would drop by 24 percent, tleman from Oklahoma [Mr. COBURN] is cost of hospital care in west Michigan and average lengths of stay would de- recognized for 5 minutes. is an important event. These low costs crease by almost a day. These are the [Mr. COBURN addressed the House. can be attributed to several factors, kind of results that we are going to His remarks will appear hereafter in but the most significant ones are that need in order to decrease health care the Extensions of Remarks.] administrators are operating efficient costs in a way that does not decrease f hospitals, doctors are making respon- the quality of care. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a These results will also help us ad- sible decisions about appropriate care, previous order of the House, the gen- dress the rapidly increasing rate of and patients are not over-utilizing tleman from Texas [Mr. STOCKMAN] is spending in the Medicare program. The health care resources. recognized for 5 minutes. The most traditional measure of hos- Social Security Board of Trustees' re- pital resources in inpatient bed capac- port for the Medicare trust fund illus- [Mr. STOCKMAN addressed the ity, measured by beds per 1,000 resi- trates the grim prognosis that the rate House. His remarks will appear here- dents. The number of beds in west of increased spending poses for the after in the Extensions of Remarks.] Michigan hospitals has decreased by 26 Medicare trust fund. One way that we f percent over the past 10 years. This re- can slow this increase in spending is by The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a flects the changing philosophy in the utilizing alternatives to fee-for-service previous order of the House, the gentle- health care sector toward less intrusive coverage. woman from Florida [Ms. ROS- treatments, shorter hospital stays, the It is ironic, however, that the low LEHTINEN] is recognized for 5 minutes. use of outpatient and home care, and cost of health care in west Michigan [Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN addressed the greater emphasis on preventive care. In currently hinders our ability to attract House. Her remarks will appear here- west Michigan, the number of acute Medicare managed-care organizations. after in the Extensions of Remarks.] care beds per 1,000 people dropped to In order to determine payments to f 2.35 in 1993, meaning that we had 1,700 managed care plans, Medicare uses a The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a fewer beds than would be expected at formula that is based on 95 percent of previous order of the House, the gen- the statewide average. And the State the average amount that Medicare tleman from Arizona [Mr. SHADEGG] is average is still below the national av- pays per beneficiary for fee-for-service recognized for 5 minutes. erage of 3.3 beds per 1,000 people. care. Low-cost areas, like west Michi- [Mr. SHADEGG addressed the House. In addition, the admission rate to gan, receive dramatically lower man- His remarks will appear hereafter in acute care hospitals in west Michigan aged care payments, based on this for- the Extensions of Remarks.] is 28 percent lower than the average mula. As a result, the payments are f rate across the State and throughout too small to attract managed care or- the Great Lakes region. The length of ganizations. This comes down to a The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a time that a person is expected to stay basic issue of fairness because Medi- previous order of the House, the gen- in the hospital upon admission has also care beneficiaries pay the same tleman from Florida [Mr. DIAZ- fallen considerably in west Michigan amount to participate in the program, BALART] is recognized for 5 minutes. from 1980 to 1993. The average length of but those in high-cost, high-utilization [Mr. DIAZ-BALART addressed the stay at 5.3 days is over 15 percent lower areas are able to access better benefits House. His remarks will appear here- than the national average. In terms of through managed care. It is improper after in the Extensions of Remarks.] length of stay for selected medical that areas, such as west Michigan, that f cases, west Michigan hospitals per- have worked hard to keep their medi- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a formed better than expected in all cat- cal costs low are then penalized with previous order of the House, the gen- egories. The days of care per 1,000 peo- less adequate Medicare coverage. If we tleman from Minnesota [Mr. ple in west Michigan is 35 percent expect to help lower Medicare spending GUTKNECHT] is recognized for 5 min- lower than the days of care per 1,000 through the use of alternatives to fee- utes. people at the national average. Finally, for-service coverage, we must ensure [Mr. GUTKNECHT addressed the the per person operating costs in west that managed care payments are devel- House. His remarks will appear here- Michigan hospitals are 30 percent lower oped in a fair manner. after in the Extensions of Remarks.] than the statewide average, and the ex- I address the House today to com- f penses per admission are also 10 per- mend west Michigan for the low-cost cent lower than the State expense per health care that its hospitals have de- TRIBUTE TO THE LATE admission. veloped. As we proceed with Medicare HONORABLE HAMILTON FISH, JR. All these statistics may be numbing, and other health are reform, I urge this The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under but together these data show that west body to take steps to ensure that we do the Speaker's announced policy of May H8528 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð HOUSE July 25, 1996 12, 1995, the gentleman from New York and I understand that yesterday he de- ing adjacent districts, Ham and I [Mr. GILMAN] is recognized for 60 min- voted a portion of his show in an ex- fought many battles together: the bat- utes as the designee of the majority tremely gracious tribute to Ham Fish. tle to try to keep the General Motors leader. Since his first election to the House plant operating in Tarrytown; the bat- Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I would in 1968, Ham served on the House Judi- tle for better commuter service on our gladly have made any sacrifice to avoid ciary Committee, which becomes his Metro North rail lines; the fight to ex- having to stand before you today for principal love. As a distinguished mem- pand Stewart Airport and with it the this solemn purpose. ber of that committee, Ham became a economy of our region; the struggle on Before I make comments on this spe- champion of civil rights under the law, behalf of our apple growers and vegeta- cial order, I would like to note for our and human decency tempered with jus- ble farmers; the continual fight to colleagues' information, that on Tues- tice. render our majestic Hudson River pol- day, July 30, 1996, at 10 a.m.