Vista's CEO in DC on Congressional Panel

Barbara J. Martin, President and CEO of Vista Health System, traveled to Washington, D.C., on Monday to speak as a panel member at a special forum held in the U.S. Capitol that focused on jobs and the economy. The national media event was hosted by Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA) and the Republican Women Members of Congress. Martin was one of six female chief executives from across the country invited to participate.

Martin addressed employment issues relating to healthcare and cited the Budget Control Act's (BCA's) mandatory two percent sequestration across all Medicare programs that is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2013. She said that this may be “the tip of the iceberg,” given the hospital cuts considered by the recently disbanded Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. She observed that the BCA cuts will place hospitals under financial duress with Medicare paying seven percent below cost for a multitude of healthcare services.

Meanwhile, hospitals are major contributors to local economies, Martin said, and new requirements imposed by policymakers often overlook those benefits. She pointed out that Vista Health System employs more than 1,200 people and paid $2.5 million in property taxes.

“The health sector has been the one area in our economy that has remained constant,” she said. “Hospitals nationwide employ over 5.4 million people, are the second largest source of private sector jobs, and spend over $340 billion on goods and services from other businesses.”

Efforts to reducing the corporate tax rate are strongly supported by hospitals in the U.S., and the recently enacted Three Percent Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act “will prove immensely helpful,” she observed.

Hospitals also recognize the need to get our nation's fiscal house in order and are eager to work with legislators to help develop solutions. “We simply ask that, with every policy decision impacting providers, careful consideration is given to resulting consequences,” Martin said.