Byline: Michele Conklin Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
Columbia/HealthOne is playing hardball with a group of physicians that broke off from its Rose Medical Center last year.
Columbia officials have been telling local HMOs that if they contract with Precedent Health Center - a hospital being opened in May by the physicians - the managed-care plans will not be allowed to contract with Columbia / HealthOne's six Denver-area hospitals, according to Precedent officials and other industry insiders.
Columbia's chief financial officer, Richard Shallcross, would not comment on whether Columbia has issued the ultimatum, saying it was ``not an appropriate time to discuss that.'' He also declined to comment on Columbia's ``strategic initiatives.''
``We'd like the health plans to respect the relationship we've had in the past where we've been their primary downtown provider,'' Shallcross said. ``We have not said, nor have payers said, there's a need for more hospital beds downtown. From our standpoint, this spreads the same patients over more bricks and mortar, more payroll, more costs. . . . We think it will add costs that will flow back to anyone who pays for health care.''
Columbia / HealthOne owns Rose, Presyterian / St. Luke's, Swedish, North Suburban and the two Aurora hospitals. Nashville-based Columbia / HCA, half-owner of Colorado's system, is the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain operating 342 hospitals, 150 surgery centers and 570 home health services in 37 states.
Precedent Health Partners is a group of about 100 prominent physicians who broke off from Rose last summer and announced plans to reopen the former Mercy Hospital. The hospital, renamed Precedent Health Center, is meant to specialize in procedures that can be done on an outpatient basis or require less than a three-day hospital stay. The physicians have insisted all along that they would continue to use Rose for their more critical and long-term patients, such as those needing major surgery or intensive care.
``We've tried in every way possible to work with Rose and Columbia, but they've clearly declared war,'' said Dr. Jeffrey Mishell, president of Precedent. ``We didn't declare war, but we'll be happy to compete with them.''
Several HMO officials said Columbia has not issued a direct ultimatum but rather voiced concerns about the presence of Precedent.
``We are in discussions with Columbia and they are very concerned about Precedent,'' said Chris Miller, president of One Health Plan of Colorado. ``We've had conversations about this, but we have not received anything official.''
One Health reportedly had decided against contracting with Precedent, but Miller said no such decision has been made.
QualMed also reportedly will not contract with Precedent. Officials there declined to comment.
Columbia also has discussed the Precedent issue with Pacificare, said Val Dean, chief operating officer for the health-maintenance organization.
``It's very problematic for Columbia,'' Dean said. ``We've had conversations about the pros and cons of Precedent, but no one has directly threatened me. It wouldn't make any sense to me that they would. We have 300 and some odd thousand patients in metro Denver that split 50-50 between Columbia and Centura (Health). It makes no sense for Columbia to cut off its nose to spite its face.''
Centura Health, another local hospital system and former owner of Mercy, is Precedent's financial partner in the health center. Officials there said they have heard about the threat.
``If what I've heard is true, we find that very unfortunate,'' Centura President Gary Susnara said.
