>> >>: Chris van gorder runs Scripp's health, with five hospitals, 26 clinics and more than
13,000 employees. We wanted to get his take on the affordable health care act and what's
at stake when the U.S. Supreme Court makes its ruling. Chris, we profiled you in a KPBS
documentary a couple years back. I want to quote you. You said health care would be cheaper
for everyone if everyone had health care. Isn't that what the original mandate attempt
to do is. >> >>: It's an attempt to try to get everybody
insurance, whether or not everybody uses insurance in the right way to try to keep themselves
way, and using the health care system. To some degree your correct that's what it's
about. >> >>JOANNE: Do you support the individual
mandate? >> SPEAKER THIRTEEN: We we need to find a
way of getting everybody insures. In that context, yes, I would agree that everybody
in this country should have insurance of one kind or another.
>> >>JOANNE: I know also in the past you've made the distinction in terms of defining
what's wrong with health care. You said it's really the economics of health care. What
do you mean by that? I will be. >> >>: I will be the first one to stand in
front of everybody and say the system doesn't work for everybody right now. It works if
you're insured or have access to great health care. If you're uninsured or under insured
it's not the best system. We have 21% uninsured in this state alone, 7Êmillion people. Right
off the back 7Êmillion California residents don't have health care insurance. For years
we've been cost shifting. The government does not pay their full cost of providing insurance
for med care, med u kaid, or county medical services, and as a result since the mid 60s
we've been cost shifting that portion of the people on private health care insurance. That's
created part of the problem ks that 1,400 dollars out of everybody's premium annually
goes to pay for those who are uninsured or under insured. If there was a blank toot have
everybody insured rgs one could theorize that 1400 disls would go out of your cost on an
annual basis. The system itself is fragmented. We have to go out troo our country and call
hospitals sick imz. If yoi aren't sick, we're out of business. We don't get payed to keep
you well. We believe at least at Scripps that we have to change that model. I think a lot
of health care providers do, and use a lot of resources to keep you well.
>> >>JOANNE: Let's talk a liteddal bit about emergency rooms. I know it plays to the uninsured.
The U T San Diego is running a series right now about frequent flyers, people who are
stl more than six times a year. I quote dwrow from another interview where you say we do
have a national health care sis, it's called the emergency room. What do you mean by that?
>> >>MR. VANGORDER: We're supposed to stabilize the patient and they can be cared for elsewhere.
In San Diego like a whrawt of counties there's no county health care system. If somebody
comes into the emergency room, we vat have a legal responsibility to take care of them
regardless of their ability to pay. That is the health care delivery system in this country.
Everybody has insurance through their emergency room, but it's one of the most expensive ways
to get care. With the U T series that's running right now, there's an old ailgty 20 rule.
About 20% the population uses those resources. The frequent flyers use probably more than
80% of the dollars, the resources. So you know we need to find a way of providing housing
and prevent tive care for these people so they don't end up taxing the 911 system, taxing
the emergency room and hospitals who don't get reimbursed for their care.
>> >>JOANNE: If the court strikes down this law, what happens to health care? In California,
and in San Diego. >> >>MR. VANGORDER: Certainly it's speculative,
but a lot of the state are right now are talking California, already said that California will
take it on themselves. They said maybe they'll pass their own mandatory health insurance
law in the state of California. The problem would be where do we get the money to actually
take care of all those people who can't afford to buy insurance. There was about 55Êbillion
dollars coming from the federal governor from 2014 to 201992 cover all those people. If
found unconstitutional, the money in theory will dry out. Where will California get the
men money to do that? >> >>JOANNE: Thanks for being here.