Across the country, more and more nonprofit health organizations such as hospitals, HMOs and insurance companies are changing from nonprofit to for-profit status, or merging with other large institutions. These restructurings can have a profound affect on the quality and availability of services provided, particularly to vulnerable populations. The presenters will discuss legal and organizing strategies that communities groups have successfully used to protect health services during the sale or merger of community hospitals.
Health Care For All is a Massachusetts based consumer advocacy organization that promotes fundamental health care reform to improve access. Health Law Advocates, Inc. (HLA) is a public interest law firm affiliated with Health Care For All. Among other things HLA and Health Care For All assist community coalitions whose local hospitals are changing owners. Health Care For All and HLA have developed legal hooks and organizing strategies to define and improve community health outcomes in the process of health care restructuring.
The Philadephia Unemployment Project is a nonprofit organization that provides direct service and advocacy to low-income individuals and families. Its mission is social and economic justice; the goal of their health care project is to make health care a right of all people. Recently, for-profit Tenet Health Care Systems bought up one third of the hospitals in Philadephia. Ms. Tisdale worked with a community coalition to extract community benefits from the provider in this transaction.
Learning Objectives: 1. Understand how to establish a community voice in the sale or merger of a health care institution. 2. Recognize the value of community coalitions to establish community partnerships to improve access to care 3. Identify strategies for making health care institutions accountable to the communities they serve
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.