Reform makes sense for small businesses, Sebelius says

By Nicole Lucht

Friday, July 31, 2009 | 3 a.m.

The Obama administration reached out to the masses last week to discuss health care reform live on Facebook.

Those who haven’t yet been sucked into the social networking site could participate on the White House’s Web site.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius hosted the event, answering questions posed by business owners, the uninsured, single-payer advocates and others clamoring for some idea of what the reform status is.

Congress is working on legislation that, in addition to barring insurance companies from excluding coverage for those with preexisting conditions, could also require small businesses with at least 15 employees to provide health coverage to their workers.

Sebelius had an assistant scour the incoming questions for her to answer.

“I’m confident we will have a bill this year on the president’s desk,” Sebelius said in response to a question inquiring how long before the bill passes.

Small-business owners, she said, have the most to gain from the bill, as it is proposed.

Those businesses “are currently priced out of the market (and) have no leverage to bring down costs,” she said. The bill proposes the creation of a pool that small businesses can buy into with other companies, lowering costs and premiums for businesses and employees.

“Health reform will be good for small businesses, make them competitive in the global marketplace and be able to attract and retain good employees,” she said.

Despite the public push for reform, there has been a lag while Blue Dog Democrats — more conservative Democrats — and Republicans argue over the merits of the bill.

Clinic expands north

Canyon Gate Medical Group opened a concierge practice in North Las Vegas, minus a membership fee.

Concierge care boasts enhanced services and increased time spent with a physician (and less time in the waiting room), in exchange for an annual membership fee.

The clinic, with 11 exam rooms, is located at 3960 W. Craig Road. It also has an on-site laboratory, X-ray imaging and pharmaceutical services within the 5,000-square-foot office.

Dr. Mark Witt, a board-certified family physician, will treat patients at the North Las Vegas location.

The opening marks the fourth of several practices Canyon Gate plans to open in the Las Vegas area.

Hospital gets OK

Desert Springs Hospital was accredited in coronary angioplasty by the Society of Chest Pain Centers, a nonprofit group that promotes protocol-based medicine and is patient-centric.

Part of the procedure involves inflating a balloon in the coronary artery to crush the plaque inside the artery wall.

St. Rose earns accreditation

St. Rose Dominican Hospitals-Rose de Lima Campus has earned accreditation in digital mammography.

All three of St. Rose’s campuses are now accredited in the breast cancer screening method.

The American College of Radiology issued the accreditation after a process that looked at quality control factors, radiologist credentialing and mammographic positioning.

A study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute found that digital mammography was more effective at screening for breast cancer than through film.

Local doctor among best in U.S.

Dr. Mel Pohl was named among the Best Doctors in America by Boston-based Best Doctors, a physician database.

Pohl is the medical director and vice president of medical affairs for Las Vegas Recovery Center, a privately owned addiction treatment center.

Chamber offers prescription card

The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce is partnering with Nevada Drug Card to offer the public a free prescription drug card that it says will save consumers an average 30 percent on medications.

The card targets those without drug coverage or with a high deductible but can also be used by people whose coverage doesn’t cover prescribed drugs.

Nicole Lucht covers health care, workplace, energy and banking issues for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at 259-8832 or at [email protected].