After months of negotiation, Jackson Health System and the University of Miami have agreed to a new arrangement that will separate UM physicians who work at Jackson from those who work at UM's healthcare institution by allowing Jackson to "lease" some faculty physicians from the medical school, reported The Miami Herald.
The leased physicians will work exclusively for Jackson, which would pay their salaries and collect any insurance payments generated by their care.
Moreover, Jackson will no longer pay the medical center an annual lump sum of $115 million to cover UM doctors treating uninsured patients. Instead, Jackson will pay UM for each particular service provided by a faculty physician.
The new leasing arrangement will put Jackson in control of the doctors, preventing conflicts of interest or divided loyalties, Marcos Lapciuc, Jackson's board chairman, told the Herald.
While the new plan ensures some UM doctors "will be 100 percent Jackson," it also presents an opportunity for Florida International University faculty doctors to provide their healthcare services, the article noted.
Jackson officials expect the new relationship with UM to produce significant savings, according to another Miami Herald article. CEO Carlos Migoya on Friday told Jackson's governing board that for the second straight year the public health system might go completely broke by summer unless it makes some major changes.
So far, healthcare officials haven't disclosed how the two Florida healthcare institutions will divide the specialties and physicians.
To learn more:
- read the Miami Herald article on the new arrangement
- here's the Miami Herald article on Jackson's financial issues