Washington, D.C., Officials Questioned Over Future of Greater Southeast, Health Care Access

Washington, D.C., residents at a Dec. 2 town hall meeting raised concerns about access to care after Mayor Anthony Williams (D) said that the city supports but cannot guarantee the continued existence of Greater Southeast Hospital, the Washington Post reports (Moreno, Washington Post, 12/3). Greater Southeast filed for bankruptcy last month after its parent company, Doctors Community Healthcare, also filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 20, following the collapse of health care lender National Century Financial Enterprises on Nov. 18. National Century filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because it owed approximately $3.6 billion to bondholders, large money-management firms that buy bonds and other creditors. Doctors Community is the general contractor for the D.C. Healthcare Alliance, a private corporation that runs D.C.'s indigent health care system. Greater Southeast is the primary facility for patients enrolled in the alliance who require hospitalization or trauma care (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 11/27). Residents expressed "discontent" with the D.C. Healthcare Alliance and asked the panel, including the mayor and D.C. City Council members, where they would receive health services if Greater Southeast closed. The facility is the only acute-care general hospital east of the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. James Buford, the city's health department director, said, "The ultimate goal is to keep the hospital operating and providing care to citizens east of the river," adding that "the long-term fate of [Greater Southeast] is yet to be determined" (Moreno, Washington Post, 12/3).

Greater Southeast Might Lose Alliance Contract
Williams is considering replacing Greater Southeast as the prime contractor for the D.C. Healthcare Alliance with D.C. Chartered Health Plan, a for-profit HMO for city Medicaid beneficiaries that handles claims for the indigent care system, according to Buford, the Washington Times reports. According to the Times, many city officials and medical providers have expressed support for removing Greater Southeast as the prime contractor for the alliance if the hospital "fails to perform" or to "streamline" health care delivery for the indigent. Further, D.C. Chartered has been lobbying city officials to replace Greater Southeast as the prime contractor. However, some D.C. City Council members said they are "wary" of "such a 'drastic' step." Council member Adrian Fenty (D) said that changing the contract is legal, but that "doesn't mean there is the political support to do it." He added that the city needs to keep its "options open" (Bhatti/Keary, Washington Times, 12/3).