County lifts moratorium on Quick Cares

Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2001 | 10:47 a.m.

Clark County officials are no longer considering a moratorium on University Medical Center's plans to build additional Quick Cares, the public hospital's drop-in medical offices.

The decision essentially halts an aggressive campaign by some private health care providers to establish limits for the drop-in medical offices.

"A moratorium is not a productive idea at this time," Commissioner Erin Kenny, who chairs the hospital board, said. "Clearly, the Quick Cares are providing a vital service to the citizens of Clark County."

The board Tuesday instructed UMC officials to meet with private physicians to directly address their concerns, and to consider possible partnerships with the private sector for future Quick Cares. No timetable was set for the meetings.

UMC officials, in a presentation to the board, said the 14 Quick Cares throughout Southern Nevada lost about $8 million last year, but the facilities brought in $17 million from referral patients.

The Quick Cares add $9 million to UMC's coffers and make the hospital less dependent on taxpayer dollars, UMC chief executive William Hale said.

The Quick Cares treated more than 500,000 patients last year, more than all of the emergency rooms in the Las Vegas Valley combined, Dr. Byron Brown, the hospital's medical director, said. Quick Care physicians also referred about 70,000 patients to doctors outside of the UMC system, Brown said.

Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey said Tuesday she wasn't satisfied with UMC's report because it lacked specifics for each Quick Care. The report also failed to detail staff salaries and supply costs -- items Kincaid said she wanted addressed.

"I don't doubt UMC is benefitting from the Quick Cares, but I think the public has a right to know why we aren't at least breaking even," Kincaid said.

Still, Hale said, detailing the financial information would not accurately portray the important role the centers play in regard to UMC's overall fiscal health.

"We've always said the Quick Cares would be loss leaders," Hale said. "We've never expected to show a profit."

Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates, citing concerns that the health care market was becoming saturated with the drop-in medical offices, suggested the moratorium during the board's July meeting. Gates, who participated in the meeting via speaker phone, seconded Kenny's motion Tuesday to have UMC officials meet with representatives from the private sector. She was later unavailable for comment.

Some private physicians have criticized the Quick Cares, claiming they provide unfair competition to the private sector. Doctors working at the Quick Cares don't have to buy expensive malpractice insurance because, as county employees, they are protected from being sued for more than $50,000.

The Quick Cares also don't have to worry about showing a profit because the county provides a safety net, the private physicians have argued.

"What if Metro (police) opened up a mechanic's shop in the motor pool or the county decided to build a casino?" Greg Griffin, who manages two drop-in primary care clinics in Las Vegas, asked. "They would have to play by the same rules as the other businesses. That's all we're asking for from UMC."

The arguments have failed to convince commissioners.

"If the money from the Quick Cares goes away because the private sector gets its way, then the taxpayers are going to shoulder that burden," Kenny said. "It would mean less money for senior centers and parks."