Hospital still a bad idea (editorial)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 12, 2006
Oconomowoc Mayor Maury Sullivan's offer to negotiate an end to the
city's legal fight with Aurora Health Care makes sense from the city's
perspective. Oconomowoc taxpayers would have to bear the burden of any
protracted legal battle in the already 5-year-old lawsuit, and if
negotiations keep Aurora out of the Pabst Farms development and its tax
incremental financing district, the city will have achieved its goal.
But if the end result is a new Aurora hospital where it's not really
needed, no negotiations might be preferred by those who have to pay for
the rapidly rising cost of health care, already steeper in Wisconsin
than in many other states.
A recent court ruling against the city essentially gave Aurora a
go-ahead for its proposed 88-bed, $166 million facility, prompting both
a legal appeal by the city - which we hope the city wins - and
Sullivan's offer to negotiate with Aurora. The result of such
negotiations could well be a new hospital in western Waukesha County,
probably in the neighboring Town of Summit, where Aurora would like to
build and where town officials would welcome the facility.
There are those who argue that Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital could use
some healthy competition from Aurora.
If this were any other business, that might be true. In other
businesses, competition often means lower costs for consumers or, at the
very least, better services. But in health care, there is good reason to
believe that the proliferation of duplicative services is one factor in
skyrocketing costs.
Aurora's new hospital in Oshkosh has yet to turn a profit. How long
will Aurora have to go in western Waukesha County - which has no need
for 178 hospital beds - before making a profit? Aurora officials have
pledged to offer competitive prices for its services, but how long can
that last if the hospital doesn't make money?
ProHealth Care recently announced needed renovation and expansion
plans for its Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital in an effort to provide
better services. Some saw that as ironic - or worse, hypocritical -
given ProHealth Care's opposition to Aurora's plans. But ProHealth Care
is planning a $37 million renovation and expansion that would add 11
beds, bringing its total to 90. Eleven new beds are not 88 new beds; $37
million is not $166 million.
Aurora is correct that western Waukesha County residents deserve the
best in health care close to their homes. If Aurora could guarantee
lower costs as a result of its competition, that's one thing. But there
is good reason to doubt it, as a Sunday article by Journal Sentinel
reporter Guy Boulton indicated.
Residents should remain skeptical that a new hospital in western
Waukesha County would have many benefits for those who pay health care
costs, and that's everyone.
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