A Michigan physician organization is holding a series of public town halls aimed at helping patients better understand health care costs, hospital billing and the role state lawmakers could play in addressing those issues.
Dr. Mark C. Komorowski, president of Great Lakes Physician Organization, said the organization wants to give patients a clearer picture of what happens behind the scenes in health care, including hospital consolidation, facility fees, tax exemptions and insurance costs.
Great Lakes Physician Organization represents independent practice physicians. Komorowski said physicians regularly hear from patients who are confused by medical bills and do not understand why they were charged certain amounts.
“We decided that what better way than to run a town hall,” Komorowski said, adding that the goal is to invite the public to learn more about health care delivery and its costs.
The organization plans three upcoming public meetings:
• Sept. 21: Midtown Brewing Co. in Lansing, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
• Sept. 28: Frankenmuth Brewery, Hops Room, in Frankenmuth, 5 to 7:30 p.m.
• Oct. 1: Molasses Smokehouse and Bar in Midland, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Komorowski said state lawmakers and candidates from both political parties are being invited to attend. He said the events are intended to educate the public and give residents an opportunity to hear from elected officials and candidates about how they would approach health care issues.
“We invite the legislators, both sides of the aisle, both chambers to come and listen to the topic,” Komorowski said.
Among the issues Komorowski plans to discuss are hospital mergers. He said research has shown that consolidation can result in higher costs rather than the savings sometimes cited as a benefit of merging health systems.
Komorowski also raised concerns about the tax treatment of nonprofit hospitals and properties acquired by hospital systems. He said Michigan hospitals collectively receive about $1 billion annually in tax benefits and argued that the public should have easier access to information showing how hospitals provide benefits to their communities.
He said hospitals should be required to clearly post information about their community benefit programs, including spending on programs such as debt forgiveness and assistance addressing food insecurity.
Another issue expected to be discussed is facility fees.
Komorowski said an independent physician practice cannot charge the same type of facility fees that hospital owned practices can charge. He said that can mean patients receive additional charges for similar services depending on where they receive care.
“If I was an employed physician, you would get billed for me, the injection and two facility fees, one for the visit and one for the injection,” Komorowski said.
Komorowski said greater price transparency could also help patients compare the cost of medical services among competing health systems.
“You can’t figure out what an MRI costs at MyMichigan versus Covenant versus McLaren,” he said.
He said existing transparency requirements need stronger enforcement mechanisms and argued that making prices easier for consumers to compare could create more competition among health care providers.
Komorowski also discussed what he described as a shortage of primary care physicians in Michigan. He said reimbursement rates, administrative requirements and the costs of operating an independent medical practice can make it difficult to attract and retain family medicine and internal medicine physicians.
He said Michigan trains a significant number of physicians but has difficulty keeping some of them in the state after they complete their training. Komorowski pointed to reimbursement differences between Michigan and neighboring states as one factor he believes contributes to the problem.
The town halls will also give members of the public an opportunity to ask questions about medical bills, insurance and health care terminology.
Komorowski said people should not be reluctant to ask basic questions because much of the health care billing system is difficult for patients to understand.
“There’s no dumb questions,” he said. “People don’t understand it.”
Komorowski said the events are not intended to become partisan debates. Instead, he said he wants patients, physicians and lawmakers in the same room discussing the problems they see in Michigan’s health care system and potential responses.
“We’re not trying to have a debate between both sides of the aisle,” Komorowski said. “We’re just trying to make them understand.”
He also encouraged candidates and lawmakers to attend, saying the meetings offer voters an opportunity to hear directly from people seeking or holding public office about health care issues.