Residents air HMO concerns

COLLEGE TOWNSHIP -- Boalsburg resident Carolyn Kresen recounted Friday night the difficulties she has experienced with her Health Maintenance Organization provider, which rejected payment for medication already approved by her doctors.

"(HMOs) don't seem to reimburse for out-of-pocket expenses," she said at the Health Issues Public Hearing at the College Township Municipal Building, 1481 E. College Ave. "(HMOs) no longer want to pay for certain medication."

State Sen. J. Doyle Corman, R-Centre, and State Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre and Mifflin counties, heard more than 20 accounts from patients and health care providers during the four-hour public forum, attended by about 100 area residents.

Testimonies ranged from a lack of coverage for foot care to a limited selection at pharmacies.

George Beylouny, vice president of operations at MuRata Electronics, 1900 W. College Ave., said he fears that the approval of the merger between the Geisinger Health System and the University's Hershey Medical Center will limit people's choices.

"That's a monopoly," said State College resident Beylouny, a non-HMO member who spoke on behalf of MuRata employees. "And we're concerned with the economic aspect of this monopoly. When (Geisinger and Hershey) get together, the poor people in Centre County will lose out."

The cost of health care at MuRata skyrocketed by 27 percent the first year an HMO was offered, he said.

"We've had difficulty with referrals and getting physicians without going through a series of bureaucracies," he said.

Corman said communication between health care providers and patients was among the most critical complaints raised at the hearing. The two lawmakers will air the public's concerns when the state legislature contests health care bills, Corman said.

Corman shared Beylouny's views about the merger, saying that patients will have fewer options -- and doctors -- to turn to if it is approved.

"We pride ourselves in this area with not having to be dictated to," Corman said. "People should have choices."