State Society Supports Renewal of PHC4
The Pennsylvania Medical Society is taking action to support the reauthorization of the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4).
The Society’s Board of Trustees voted at its May 2008 meeting to continue to support reauthorization and, on June 10, 2008, Peter S. Lund, MD, president of the State Society testified on PHC4 reauthorization before the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee on June 10, 2008.
“This organization has helped to raise awareness of concerns related to health care financing and quality, and in many instances helped to raise the bar to the point that Pennsylvania is a national leader when it comes to such data collection and analysis. It would be shameful to see PHC4 go away,” Dr. Lund testified.
The state General Assembly is considering several bills that would renew PHC4, which is set to expire June 30, 2008. Rep. Todd Eachus (D-Luzerne) has said he plans to introduce a stopgap bill to reauthorize PHC4 through Oct. 31, 2008, while a more permanent solution is worked out. The Medical Society believes that allowing a longer period to work out a solution would be more appropriate.
David Wilderman, PHC4’s acting executive director, told the Board in May that support from the medical community is important for the success of PHC4.
"We look to your community for guidance. We respect your community," he said.
PHC4, created in 1986 to help control growing health care costs, collects data on admissions and procedures from hospitals and freestanding ambulatory surgical centers and provides this data to the public.
"Renewal of PHC4 is a priority for the Pennsylvania Medical Society," said Dr. Lund, MD, president of the State Society. "The data that it collects and disseminates is extremely valuable."
Dr. Lund said the State Society has some concerns with physician reporting requirements currently included in one of the bills to renew PHC4,
House Bill 2028, but is confident that these issues can be worked out.
The bill would require that physician practices collect and report data—including outcome, charge, and reimbursement information—for routine office visits. The Society is concerned that this would place a financial and administrative burden on small practices.
"Like any legislation, HB 2028 needs some fine tuning to make sure that it benefits both physicians and patients," Dr. Lund said.
In his testimony, Dr. Lund said the State Society also supports extending the current one-year timeframe between sunsets for PHC4 to five to 10 years.
“As designed today, PHC4 is constantly working under the threat of being shut down before they would have time to adequately perform their responsibilities,” he said.
Last Updated: 7/2/2008