November 07, 2009
What's Inside:
GOP braces for state Senate battle
The Republican primary for a local state Senate seat already is turning into a contentious race, more than a year before the 2010 election.
A St. Joseph doctor and an Iraq war veteran from Platte City are actively fundraising and campaigning for the spot.
Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, a St. Joseph Republican, vacates the 34th Senatorial District seat at the end of 2010 and he is “extremely interested” in his replacement — so much so that he has endorsed Rep. Jason Brown of Platte City.
The slight over Rep. Dr. Rob Schaaf perhaps underlines the long-standing differences between the senator, Heartland Health’s chief marketing/communications officer, and the hometown politician, who has tried to reform hospital competition rules.
“This race is more than Buchanan County,” Mr. Shields said. “He is far from a single-issue candidate.”
The 34th Senatorial District covers both Buchanan and Platte counties.
Mr. Shields said he based his endorsement of the “decorated war hero” on his involvement in a wide range of issues, including public education and local government.
Mr. Brown was wounded nearly three years ago in Iraq while on his second tour of duty with the U.S. Army Reserves and became active in national politics when he chaired Veterans for McCain during the 2008 presidential election. He also leads a House local government committee.
Mr. Shields and other supporters, including Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, are banking on Mr. Brown’s ability to win in the general election.
St. Joseph Democratic Reps. Ed Wildberger and Martin Rucker, along with Rep. Jason Grill, D-Platte City, all are mulling bids for the seat as well.
“If the Senate seat is going to be held by a Republican, I think Jason Brown can get that done,” Mr. Shields said, crediting him for his service in the military and involvement in public education and local government issues.
But Dr. Schaaf said he sees many similarities between this campaign and his successful re-election run for the House in 2008 against St. Joseph Democrat Mark Sheehan, who received heavy support from the Missouri Hospital Association and Heartland employees, including Chief Executive Officer Lowell Kruse.
“I’m assuming this will be a repeat of last year’s effort by Heartland to keep me from being elected,” Dr. Schaaf said, referring to the backlash from his role in the demise of a Republican proposal to expand state health care eligibility.
“I just hope that this campaign is simply based on the issues and it doesn’t become the effort of one special interest like last time,” Dr. Schaaf said.
The Hospital Association openly fought to unseat Dr. Schaaf last year to prevent his eventual bid for the Senate.
“If he is successful in 2008, Schaaf will be in a strong position to secure a Senate seat in 2010, a position that would provide him with even greater ability to pursue policies that are unacceptable to the hospital community,” President Marc Smith wrote in an August letter.
Dr. Schaaf chairs a House health care transformation committee, and in 2007 helped craft MO HealthNet, a Medicaid system for offering health care to low-income Missourians, the disabled and elderly. He helped stall former Gov. Matt Blunt’s Insure Missouri plan to increase eligibility because it didn’t include changes to hospital application rules, and he adamantly opposed a plan from Senate Republicans this year that partnered with the Hospital Association to decrease the number of uninsured Missourians.
Association spokesman Dave Dillon this week said the group hasn’t endorsed Mr. Brown, but “it’s almost unimaginable” that the group would support Dr. Schaaf in the primary.
Dr. Schaaf, however, pointed to a strong Heartland presence at a fundraiser Mr. Brown conducted last week at a St. Joseph residence. About 75 people attended.
Dirck Clark, Heartland’s chief of business development; Dr. Juan Dominguez, a Heartland physician; and Mr. Shields all were listed as the event’s hospitality committee members.
“It is a Heartland effort toward Schaaf,” insisted longtime Buchanan County Republican Ken Beck.
The primary already is causing a rift between area Republicans, he explained.
“It puts a strain on the Republican party in both counties, because Rep. Schaaf and Rep. Brown have followings in both counties and I think they’re both fairly decent, qualified candidates,” Mr. Beck said. “From that standpoint, it will make it difficult for Republicans to make a choice.”
Mr. Brown declined to discuss the race this week, contending that he didn’t want to “politicize the Fourth of July weekend.”
But he did offer a response to his opponent’s comments.
“Dr. Schaaf will try to frame this election about him and what everyone is conspiring against him, and that’s fine,” Mr. Brown said. “It will come down to who is the better candidate.”
He said he would discuss the race in more detail next week with the media.
As far as finances, Dr. Schaaf was faring better in April, the most recent reporting deadline for financial disclosures with the Missouri Ethics Commission, but the most recent round of campaign contributions go public in mid-July.
Dr. Schaaf on April 13 reported $20,526 in cash on hand, while Mr. Brown showed $6,309.
Alyson E. Raletz can be reached
at alysonraletz@npgco.com.
This story has 15 comments. Click here to join in on the discussion.
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Vote Schaaf.
Unless something unforseen happens Schaaf shouln't have too much problem. if you have followed local politics the last couple of years it's been pretty evident that Schaaf has been a people or patient's advocate where as Heartland has pretty much been an advocate for it's own bottom line.
Just curious. If Charlie Shields is supporting an out-of-towner, does that mean that everything out of town is superior? Does that out-of-town superiority include hospitals? It was rumored that the Veteran's Administration was interested in locating a hospital at the old Methodist Medical Center. If that was true, I wonder what Charlie's role was in that. After all, the V.A. would have been from out of town.
I wouldn't write off Jason Brown. He's a rising star in the MO Republican party. Plus, Schaaf is untested outside of Eastern Buchanan County. Not to mention the fact Platte County -Rep. Brown's home- has grown to equal in size as Buchanan. It also looks like the Congressman Graves/Jeff Roe camp is solidly behind Brown. Last time I checked Graves/Roe has a pretty good winning percentage in races they got involved in.
Birds of a feather; it is always so intriguing to see how "involved" an entity becomes in the political process when their vested interests are at stake.
if graves is behind brown that seals it for me. vote schaaf.... if you are voting republican.
amen heritage. competion is good for the soul,,schaff has has my vote again.
peak, you actually think that graves and the roe group is in favor in this district right now? after all the shouting on the part of the vote yes twice group?
the school district vs. the heartland people. could get ugly.
Let me say up front I don't have a dog in this hunt either regarding Brown vs. Schaaf or concerning Heartland but I would like the anti-Heartland, pro-Schaaf participants to clear up two issues for me:
- Heartland was formed because Methodist and St. Joseph's Hospitals could not survive in a market this size. Why do you think things have changed now to the point that two competing hospitals could do so? If anything, the cost of healthcare (equipment, docs salaries) has only increased.
- Why has not Saint Lukes, KU, whoever not already entered this market if St. Joseph is as underserved as you claim? If you research the history of Certificate of Need in Missouri you'll find that it seems to have not teeth and can easily be overidden. Look what happened with Saint Lukes in Lees Summit as an example.
Please enlighten me.....
I just read the comments, and would like to offer an answer to 'newman'.
When our two hospitals merged years ago, the issue was that both hospitals were buying CT scanners, and they argued that it was best to avoid duplicating such expensive services. Now, St. Joseph has more MRI machines than all of Manitoba! There is evidence that healthcare costs are high here, for example a GAO report that St. Joseph has the 4th highest hospital costs in the nation. More recent data from the MO Department of Insurance confirms that Northwest Missouri healthcare costs are higher. Our citizens and employers suffer as a result, and I have advocated for the elimination or reform of the Certificate of Need (CON) committee process so that the threat of competition could help bring about needed change. I believe that just the threat of competition can be as effective as actually having another hospital come to town. But if one did, everyone would benefit from the competition, not only the patients, but all the employees and providers would have another choice of where to work.
Other hospitals have looked at the St. Joseph market, but the cost of obtaining a CON is prohibitive. Further, there is the sense that the committee is stacked politically, for example the chairman is Mike Meierhoffer, Heartland's former board chairman! Why do you suppose he was selected? It is true that St. Lukes ultimately obtained a CON to build Lee's Summit hospital, but they had to go to court to do it, an expensive proposition. And if the argument is that the CON is irrelevant because it "can easily be overidden", then why is it such a contentious issue? If true, we should eliminate it anyway; why have a requirement that can be so easily overridden?
The bottom line is that our economy works best when markets are allowed to function freely. "Central Planning" just does not work, and the Missouri CON committee is a prime example. Even the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have stated in a joint report that the CON likely leads to increased healthcare costs.
I would be very happy to discuss these issues with anyone. Truth is truth. All I ask is that you identify yourself. My email address is rob@schaaf.com. During the session, I hold legislative forums every week, and we talk about things such as this at length.
Rob Schaaf
Its refreshing when a public servant admits that they read our blogs. We all know most of them do, but very few (Dr. Schaaf, Bill Falkner) actually acknowledge it publicly. Regardless of who wins the primary, I'll vote Republican in the general election.
Dr. Schaaf - Outstanding commentary on the issue. Anyone not realizing what added competition would mean for the costs and betterment of medical care in the area best do some homework.
With all due respect to Dr. Schaaf, St. Joe is not a burgeoning metropolis. Census figures don't show significant growth over the last ten years. Shucks even Kansas City & St. Louis suburbs are leaping us in population. Does anyone think another full-fledged hospital can survive in this town. The barriers of entry would be significant. Plus, St. Luke's is only 35 miles away. I know plenty of people that already drive that distance for surgeries and even to have babies! I'm no fan of Heartland, but lets not bite off our nose just to spite our face.
Dr. Schaaf, I too must express my admiration for your willingness to respond to my questions. Your candor is indeed refreshing for a politician.
You make some interesting points that I'm not sure I quite agree with totally. Regardless, I'm going to mull them over and will respond to you via your email address if I have further questions.
Thanks.
You make a point for me, 'peak1978'...I also know plenty of people who already drive to Kansas City for surgeries and to have babies. The question is, why? The hospitals are 41 miles apart, and those people go for a reason.
Jefferson City has a population of 39,636 and has two hospitals (technically three, one has two campuses.)
Cape Girardeau has a population of 73,243 and has two hospitals.
Joplin has a population 45,504 and has two hospitals.
I myself firmly believe that another full-fledged hospital can survive in this town. But as I said, I do not necessarily want another hospital. I just want the threat of competition, which can be as effective in motivating a competitor to change as actual competition. As it is, the cost of healthcare is negatively effecting our local economy and causing us to lose business to Kansas City. When patients spend their dollars for Kansas City health care, they also spend dollars on other KC goods and services. St. Joseph could be getting that business.
There is also a human cost in the delay, expense and inconvenience for those who drive to Kansas City.
Most businesses eventually realize that competition is good for them--it makes them better. Would it really hurt our economy if one of the big systems came to St. Joseph and spent $100,000,000 building a new hospital?
I am a magnet for complaints from my constituents. Some of those I hear include: Long emergency room wait times; facility fee charges to see a physician in office; inadequate nurse staffing; low wages for nurses compared to Kansas City; unwillingness to report quality problems for fear of losing one's job; aggressive collection tactics; excessive cost; anticompetitive business tactics; and high health insurance premiums relative to other areas of the state. Competition (or even the threat of competition) would tend to improve all of these. Without the CON committee to keep competition out, a hospital might improve conditions so that competitors would not be tempted to come.
Changing the CON is not the complete answer to the problems we have in health care, but it is one component. Unfortunately, because the CON protects the status quo, those who benefit financially from the status quo will go to any lengths to protect it.
Again, please feel free to write me at rob@schaaf.com.
Rob Schaaf