On Monday, Oct. 18, Maddie Lopez-Vazquez, a Health Unit Coordinator at Lehigh Valley Hospital – Pocono, attended a Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee hearing to testify on the negative impacts corporate consolidation in the healthcare industry can have on patient care and job conditions for healthcare workers.
“We are often celebrated as ‘heroes’ now but often these large health systems aren’t treating us that way,” Vazquez said. “Especially as corporate consolidation continues to plague our healthcare system.”
Vazquez was one of a handful of healthcare stakeholders who were invited to testify at the hearing, titled “Navigating Healthcare and Corporate Consolidation.”
“When Pocono Medical Center was purchased by Lehigh Valley Health Network in 2017, many caregivers left because of the uncertainty the lack of transparency created,” recalled Vazquez. “We had no idea what these changes were going to mean. We were lucky that many of us have our union and through that, were able to help save jobs.”
Vazquez went on to describe the loss of services that came with the new ownership — like pediatrics and mental health services — and the outsourcing of departments like their laboratory where bloodwork and samples were processed. All in the name of cost-cutting.
These threats to patient services and to good, quality union jobs in our communities is exactly why Vazquez and other healthcare workers are calling for more transparency in healthcare system consolidation and advocating for legislation that would create that transparency. They want to ensure accountability by requiring that any parties involved in the purchase of a healthcare facility must be made public and that financial records of the purchasing entity be reviewed as well as any plans for the facility going forward. They are also calling for protections for workers to ensure they don’t bear the entire burden of any cost-cutting measures.
“The consolidation of care in Pennsylvania by large corporations is hurting both workers and patients,” Kristin Volchansky, an organizer with Action Together NEPA testified. “We–the people and our elected representatives– must hold them accountable to our communities. These large corporations buy our hospitals and nursing homes, but they refuse to invest in those facilities or the front-line caregivers crucial to our care and well-being. They dial down services, merge systems, and even close facilities, devastating communities and creating care and economic desserts. They take our patients’ money and taxpayer dollars and pay themselves.”
Also testifying before the committee was Margo Opsasnick, CEO of Delta Medix. Delta Medix, a private physicians’ practice has been in the news recently because of its refusal to sell to Community Health Systems (CHS), which already owns several hospitals in the NEPA region.
Opsasnik noted that healthcare consolidation in recent years has led to a shortage of independent primary care physicians, with nearly 70% now being employed by corporations. Delta Medix refused CHS’ offer to buy because of its well-known record of failing to invest in its own hospitals locally.
“I’m so grateful to those who testified today so that we can learn and understand how we as a legislature can support our communities and health systems,” said Rep. Maureen Madden, Northeast Delegation Chairwoman. “As a state representative, I have partnered with St. Luke’s to create a level of medical care that has not been available here in the mountains. It’s so important that when consolidation happens, we do it with this in mind so that we can maintain the high quality of care that residents here receive.”