Quick Care called unfair competition

Art Nadler

Monday, June 30, 1997 | 4:35 a.m.

Some local physicians think it's strange that they are being forced to pay taxes to compete with themselves.

That's how Dr. Lane Friedman feels about Clark County-run University Medical Center and its Quick Care centers. He sees them as being in direct competition with his three Premier Family Medical Centers.

"The government has no business competing with the private sector," Friedman said. "It's not right for UMC to use my tax dollars to fill the hospital. I'm willing to compete with anyone on a level playing field."

Friedman claimed that because the county financially supports UMC, the hospital's six Quick Care centers don't have to worry about showing a profit and can hire doctors at higher salaries and provide them better medical benefits.

Friedman said Quick Care physicians are paid on average $5 and $10 an hour more.

"The Quick Care centers were started to meet the needs of the community," said Tony Jones, chief operation officer at UMC. "I don't think they were started to cause a burden on physicians."

Jones, who took over as Quick Care administrator six weeks ago, confirmed that other centers are planned throughout the Las Vegas area.

"UMC is pulling from the public trough," said Dr. James Hogan, who owns three private community clinics. "There is no accountability on UMC's part. They can offer all the bells and whistles, and if they lose money, it doesn't matter. We have to show a bottom line."

Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny, chairwoman of the UMC Board of Trustees, disagreed. She said Quick Care centers save taxpayers money because they care for patients who would otherwise go to UMC's more expensive emergency room.

"The centers are very well received, and the public feels comfortable going to them," Kenny said. "They are one of the shining stars at UMC."

Kenny said Quick Care centers generally operate at a profit in most areas, and that taxes would have to be raised if they didn't exist.

UMC can't operate at a profit, she said, because it takes care of the indigent population.

A year ago, when UMC reported a profit after years of operating in the red, William Hale, the chief executive officer, touted Quick Care centers as being an important part of the hospital's success.

"We have a captive audience with indigents," Hale said. "So we developed a good primary care system. The Quick Care centers have been very profitable and act as feeders to the main hospital."

Hale also said at the time that Quick Care centers helped attract managed care companies to the hospital. He also acknowledged that private hospitals have been critical of UMC's government subsidies.

"They say it's not an equal playing field, but it'll never be an equal playing field as long as we must take all comers and they can pick and choose, except emergency care.

"Our mission is to provide health care to everyone," Hale said. "We're proud of that, but we try to cater to paying clients as well as indigents."