Copyright 2000 The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
January 3, 2000, Monday, CITY EDITION
SECTION: VIEWPOINTS, Pg. 3B
LENGTH: 309 words
HEADLINE:
HCRA WILL HELP RURAL HOSPITALS SURVIVE
BODY:
As chief executive officer of Tri-County Memorial Hospital, I would
like to respond to several recent articles and editorials on the Health Care
Reform Act. HCRA 2000 was recently approved by both the Assembly and the Senate.
Unfortunately, the significance of the legislation on the delivery of health
care in New York State has been shadowed by emphasis on the negotiating process
and tobacco, both in the cigarette tax and use of the tobacco settlement funds.
The Balanced Budget Act and managed care have created significant
challenges for health-care providers. HCRA 2000 attempts to ensure access to
health-care services for all New Yorkers, especially some of the state's most
fragile residents -- low-income, uninsured and Medicaid recipients.
The
rural community hospital is often the only source of health care for local
residents and frequently serves a disproportionate share of such residents. This
earns the facility the distinction of being a "high-need hospital."
Often the rural hospital is a major employer in the community.
Characteristics of rural communities produce other unique challenges including
lack of transportation, lack of access to social services and difficulty in
recruiting and retaining health-care providers.
Some of the legislators
being criticized are also the representatives who have ensured access to
health-care services in rural communities.
Assemblymen Richard Smith and
William Parment, and Senators Patricia McGee and Dale Volker are the key players
in the survival of rural health-care services in Gowanda.
Through HCRA,
they have drafted legislation that will assist health-care providers by
improving coverage for the uninsured and indigent, maintaining support for
graduate medical education, containing Medicaid costs and
addressing mental-health issues. DIANE J. OSIKA Gowanda
LOAD-DATE: January 5, 2000 
