Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Web Extras: Marketplace, Bridal, Headlines by Email, Postcards

468x80benchmarks.gif (7648 bytes)

Introductory remarks of Jeffrey Romoff, president of the UPMC Health Systems.

I have the distinct advantage of going last, alphabetically at least, so I will try to say something different. I think we have heard well stated and correctly stated, the deficits of the system and the difficulties -- the overbededness, the high cost of our elderly population, the difficulties with the reimbursement system. And I think Paul’s comments are exquisitely on the mark on the lack of any kind of serious value engineering.

But, I think it is a wonderful place to be. I think the health industry has added advantages to this region and the nation in an extraordinary way.

First of all, it’s a good idea. It’s taking care of people. And, though Paul is, of course, correct to note that it sometimes kills people, you don’t count the lives that have been saved in the same sentence.

I think it brings to the region an extraordinary amount of economic development. We just had a county election, and as I remember, there was actually no difference between the candidates in terms of priorities for economic development. I don’t think there is a stronger opportunity for this region than in the spinoffs. UPMC, for example, brings in about $200 million dollars a year in federal funds, about 90 percent of the region’s funding from the National Institutes of Health. And with the very positive increase in funding for federal research, it will likely bring in more. Patients come to Pittsburgh -- at least, patients come to UPMC from all over the world.

UPMC is the biggest employer in Western Pennsylvania. Other opportunities are the affiliations of the pharmaceutical and biotechnical companies and the recent announcement we made of the relationship between the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon in robotics and related biotechnical areas.

There is another opportunity that this region has, following up on what Paul said. Increasingly, there is actually a small group of people in this area that A) are responsible for delivering the majority of health care and B) are responsible for paying the majority of health care costs. Now shame on us all if this small group of people on both sides of the equation actually can’t make it work and work significantly better.

Return to Roundtable