Health agency should go

Peoria, Ill., Journal Star

Gov. Rod Blagojevich called former Congressman Glenn Poshard out of retirement last week to head the troubled Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board. Now Poshard should help the governor retire the board. The agency was created in 1974 to control health care costs by preventing costly overbuilding at the same time it ensured statewide access to care. To that end, it requires hospitals, nursing homes and other major providers to get the board's approval when they want to build, expand or eliminate core services.

That's the way it's supposed to work anyway, but powerful evidence suggests it hasn't. After a 2001 audit, Illinois Auditor General William Holland cast doubts on the board's claim of preventing nearly $500 million in unnecessary construction the preceding four years.

The planning board approach to health care savings isn't unique to Illinois, nor is Holland's office the only one to question its usefulness.Federal agencies in a joint report urged states to reconsider whether such an approach "best serve(s) citizens' health care needs." The report came out at the same time Blagojevich ordered the work of the Illinois board halted pending an overhaul. The appointment of the highly respected Poshard all but completes that work, and it is hard to imagine a scandal-plagued board on his watch. ...

The fundamental problem with this board isn't corruption; it's efficacy. Blagojevich and the Legislature should plan for the board to go.