CEO Editorial: Bringing Valley needs to D.C.

As leader of the Valley’s largest health care provider, one of my responsibilities is to carry the region’s needs and concerns to our elected officials.

During a break between cold weather snaps and snow in late February, Pat Rafferty, Community’s chief operating officer, and I traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with our area legislators, staff and Bush administration officials to discuss health care policy.

Capitol Hill was teeming with thousands of visitors and members of advocacy groups as we walked from the legislators’ office buildings to the Capitol. Long security lines into the congressional offices were the order of the day.

I appreciate that our legislators – Congressmen Jim Costa, George Radanovich and Devin Nunes – and their staffs took time to meet with us. The first order of business was to convey the impact that the president’s proposed cuts in Medicare and Medicaid would have on care providers such as Community.

With more than three-quarters of our business from Medi-Cal and Medicare patients, Community would have difficulty weathering these significant proposed cuts. These meetings were productive and informative. They reinforced the importance of keeping open the lines of communication.

I especially want to thank Congressman Costa for his continued efforts to assist Community in resolving concerns that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has with the June 2006 intergovernmental transfer between the County of Fresno and Community. Although work is continuing on this issue, also involving the state of California, Congressman Costa has provided strong leadership and guidance to ensure that $18 million of government funding for health care remains in Fresno County.

Tim A. Joslin
Chief Executive Officer
Community Medical Centers

Thursday, March 22, 2007