The board of Miami-based Jackson Health System approved a memorandum of understanding yesterday to amend its ties with the University of Miami's medical school, but rapport between the two organizations isn't quite agreeable, according to a Miami Herald report.
The agreement comes just in time since UM's new fiscal year begins today. On Wednesday, Jackson's board refused to approve the agreement despite encouragement from Jackson CEO Carlos Migoya to do so.
UM provides roughly 90 percent of the physicians at Jackson facilities, but the health system wanted to revise its payment model to "lease" those physicians. In the past, Jackson has paid UM physicians for services, and UM kept money the physicians earned from insurers.
Under this approved agreement, Jackson will pay UM a base of $99.5 million this coming year, along with monthly transitional payments of $3.6 million as the two organizations negotiate a more complicated agreement, under which Jackson will hire or lease UM physicians to run centers of excellence for transplants, trauma and women and children's services.
Some Jackson board members remain displeased with the agreement despite their sign off. One board member said in the report that the board had no choice but to accept the agreement, while another said the business model with UM "does not work" and hopes Jackson finds a way to break ties with UM in the next few years. Chairman Marcos Lapciuc compared UM's charges to those of a lemonade stand in a desert: It charges a dollar — rather than a quarter — per cup just because it can, according to the report.
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The agreement comes just in time since UM's new fiscal year begins today. On Wednesday, Jackson's board refused to approve the agreement despite encouragement from Jackson CEO Carlos Migoya to do so.
UM provides roughly 90 percent of the physicians at Jackson facilities, but the health system wanted to revise its payment model to "lease" those physicians. In the past, Jackson has paid UM physicians for services, and UM kept money the physicians earned from insurers.
Under this approved agreement, Jackson will pay UM a base of $99.5 million this coming year, along with monthly transitional payments of $3.6 million as the two organizations negotiate a more complicated agreement, under which Jackson will hire or lease UM physicians to run centers of excellence for transplants, trauma and women and children's services.
Some Jackson board members remain displeased with the agreement despite their sign off. One board member said in the report that the board had no choice but to accept the agreement, while another said the business model with UM "does not work" and hopes Jackson finds a way to break ties with UM in the next few years. Chairman Marcos Lapciuc compared UM's charges to those of a lemonade stand in a desert: It charges a dollar — rather than a quarter — per cup just because it can, according to the report.
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