Reply to comment

Have you heard the expression “it is always about the money?” Well, quite often it is about the money and year in and year out, the cost of health care has outpaced all other costs, even labor costs. And in health care, it is about the money as well, and also the quality and the access to health care. The North Idaho Health Network was created 15 years ago to provide our communities with affordable, high quality health care provided by the best selection of quality providers.

And, we have succeeded. Since 1994, the North Idaho Health Network (NIHN) through a local network of more than 270 family practice physicians and specialists and five north county hospitals has been working on your behalf to slow the rising cost of health care. During this time we have consistently delivered 8 to 12 percent lower costs. As we have delivered lower costs we have always believed that access to quality-care is imperative.

As north Idaho has grown so have the challenges to control health care costs. A year ago, the Northwest Specialty Hospital filed a lawsuit against NIHN to gain access to the contracts we had negotiated with insurance companies and local employers. The result of that lawsuit, in a declaratory judgment, was that the NIHN is a private not-for-profit organization and as such, could apply standards of membership for its network of providers. Our standards are high and our commitment to the community is unwavering and not every health care provider is allowed into the North Idaho Health Network.

All of the NIHN member hospitals provide emergency room services, which is often the access point to care for the indigent. Our hospital members financially write off significant amounts of services provided annually caring for those who are unable to afford health insurance and are not able to pay. Our member hospitals provide a broad range of services, including the most difficult and complex life saving care.

Federally there is a law, commonly referred to as the Stark Law, which prohibits physicians from referring care to entities in which they have a financial interest. And each year, congress is lobbied to prevent the Stark Law from being applied to physician-owned hospitals like NSH.

Today we face a new challenge. A bill was introduced in Idaho state legislature by a north Idaho senator who also represents the specialty hospital as their insurance broker, which would require insurance companies that utilize the NIHN to include them. .

The North Idaho Health Network works with Blue Cross of Idaho, Regence-Blue Shield of Idaho and Altius Health Plans to design health insurance programs that insurance brokers then offer their clients. We are not an insurance plan. We are a community health plan option that a broker may present to an employer that will save the employer and their employees’ money, as well as provide the best health care at the local level. It is a commitment we’ve held for 15 years and it is unwavering.