(Nyhart) What to Do When Faced With the Threat of a Corporate Campaign

8/7/2019 (Nyhart) What to Do When Faced With the Threat of a Corporate Campaign

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HReport Highlights

he New Attack on Charity Care 1

Avoiding The Wolf At The Door:What To Do When Faced With The

hreat Of A Corporate Campaign 2

What To Expect If Your Organization Is Targeted 2

ools for Successpotlight On Expert Serviceshe GCD Vulnerability Assessment 3

What You Can Do If Your Organization Is Targeted 3

ublic Interest Groups That Haveoined In The Charity Care Attack 4

potlight On ExpertiseK. Bruce Stickler, Partner 5

Our Services 6

the Corporate Campaign - a campaigndesigned to attack an organization throughthe use of community activism, political

leaders, media and clergy.

Hospitals across the nation are receivingrequests for copies of charity care policies,practices and financial records disclosing theamount of money spent on charity care.Many are receiving requests for meetingswith hospital administrators to discuss theissue of charity care. Some are even facinga complete public onslaught through themedia, handbills, picketing and communitymailings disclosing their charity care andpricing practices. This onslaught is the workof groups such as the Service EmployeesInternational Union (SEIU) and theAssociation of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

Some readers might be asking: Why is aunion interested in the amount of money ahospital spends on charity care? The

answer is simple, this is the new face of

In this edition of Nyhart HReport, we arefocusing on one of the fastest emerging

topics in the healthcare industry charitycare. Many organizations across the countryare being called on the carpet regardingcharity care policies and the amount of money expended on charity care. We arepleased to be partnering with Gardner,Carton & Douglas (GCD) a Chicago basedlaw firm, to bring you the most up-to-dateinformation on this topic. We are proud tohave worked with GCD at numerous clientsnationwide. Together, we provide the mostup-to-date and thorough advice to our clients on the topic of charity care and

pricing practices.

In this edition, you will find information on: Why unions and other public interestgroups are targeting hospital charitycare policies.

A sample of what some organizationsare experiencing.

What your organization can do to bracefor such an attack.

As always, we hope this edition of NyhartHReport is informative and useful. If youwould like more information on thecharity care issue, please contactAdenike Shaffer at (317) 803-7786.

Welcome to theSpring 2005 Edition of Nyhart HReport!

The New Attackon Charity Care

pring 2005


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y K. Bruce Stickler ardner, Carton & Douglas

or many years, conventional wisdomwas that employers who had good products,xcellent service, satisfied customersnd content employees had little to beoncerned about from unions attemptso organize their employees. Not so

anymore. In fact, employerswho meet this descriptiontoday are more vulnerable tounionization than ever before.

And this is especially true inthe health care industry dueto labors use of a weaponcalled the corporatecampaign.

Health care corporatecampaigns can trace their origins to industrial modelsdeveloped more than twodecades ago. Jarol Manheim

in his book, Death of aThousand Cuts definescorporate campaigns as anorganized assault involvingeconomic, political, legal,regulatory, and psychological

warfare The attack usually centers aroundthe media, where the protagonists attempt toredefine the image and tarnish thereputation of the target company until ityields on whatever the issue in disputemight be.

Avoiding The Wolf At The Door:What To Do When Faced With The Threat Of A Corporate Campaign

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Unlike the traditional model of organizing agrass roots campaign to organize onecohesive bargaining unit of employees-- thecorporate campaign is targeted at all of thehealth care systems employees at one time.Rather than appeal to employees directly,unions target and pressure governance andleadership to submit to their demands.

The Service Employees International Union(SEIU) has refined the model and is theleading proponent of corporate campaigns inthe health care industry. SEIUs currentcampaigns against health care systems aremasked as partnership proposals. SEIUseeks assurances that providers sign aneutrality pact allowing the union to organizetheir entire workforce in return for labor

peace and other vague union promises.

The core of the Neutrality Agreementnormally contains the following elements:

provide the union with names,addresses and other informationregarding all employees;

give the union unlimited access toprovider facilities to organize all

employees;

Mass mailings are distributed to the

community citing the true cost of

healthcare and publicizing what

appears to be extreme price inflation by

hospitals across the state.

Charity care policies and financial

records are requested from the targeted

hospital.

Meeting with hospital administrators is

requested to discuss specific cases

where the hospital has sued patients for

non-payment or filed property liens

against patients for non-payment.

Picketing at targeted hospital to raise

public awareness of the campaign

against the hospital.

Targeted hospital becomes the focus of

Accountability Project. Such a project

is spearheaded by union and other

public interest groups. The Internet is a

popular vehicle for this type of project.

Former patients are

encouraged/organized to file a class-

action lawsuit alleging that targeted

hospital violates the law by

overcharging uninsured patients and is

shirking its not-for-profit responsibilities

to provide free and reduced-price

medical care.

Public interest stories are fed to the

What To Expectf Your Organization

s Targeted


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State Attorney General and/or political

leaders launch investigations and

public hearings to address complaints

brought on by the union and other

public interest associations.

Task forces of public officials and public

interest representatives are created

to look into unequal care for

minority groups.

Opposition to Certificate of Need

applications and local bond approval.

Employees/Internal Union

Organizers become spokespeople

against the targeted hospital in their

churches, communities and union-

produced videos.

What You Can DoIf Your Organization

Is Targeted

At Gardner, Carton & Douglas, we believe

that provider knowledge and understanding

of their own vulnerabilities allow providers to

make positive changes and continue their

focus on quality patient care and strong

employee relations, while reducing their risk

of external union corporate campaigns.

We assist healthcare systems in conducting

a Vulnerability Assessment to identify

significant areas of concern that SEIU or

other unions may use in their corporate

campaigns. We assess the risks and

recommend means and action plans to

reduce the risk of exposure, and

implementation of changes going forward.

The areas examined, in part, include:

Charity care and financial assistancepolicies and practices;

Community benefit reports;

Tax exempt policies and practices;

Governance issues;

Human Resources policies and

procedures;

Communications strategies and

effectiveness;

Internal and external public relations

and key messages; Executive compensation and benefits;

Joint venture arrangements and key

affiliations and consistency in policies

and practices;

Diversity practices;

Strength of governmental relations;

Ties to significant community

organizations;

Church and sponsor affiliations, and

more.

For more information on the GCD

Vulnerability Assessment, please contact

Bruce Stickler at (312) 569-1325.

Tools for Success - Spotlight on Expert ServicesThe GCD Vulnerability Assessment

media publicizing how indigent families

have lost their homes due to excessive

medical billing practices.

Allegations are made in the community

that Latinos, African Americans and

other minorities receive substandard

care because they do not have equal

access, a full understanding of their

coverage or health insurance coverage.

Religious associations publicly call for

an end to discriminatory pricing. Faith

based hospitals are particularly

susceptible to this tactic.

Local governments pass resolutions

to stop price gouging by targeted

hospital.

remain strictly neutral towards theunions attempts to gain signatures onauthorization cards (no negativecomments concerning disadvantages of unionization); and

recognize the union on the basis of employees signed authorization cardswith no NLRB secret ballot election.

When the health care system refuses tonter into the neutrality agreement, theEIU in effect declares war and initiatess corporate campaign to malign theystem. Millions of dollars and substantialesources are devoted by SEIU and other nions to engage in these campaigns. A fiveear or longer commitment is not unheard

f. There are two lengthy campaigns inalifornia and Connecticut that are stillctive. These campaigns sap the energyf leadership and negatively impact theystems business strategy.

GCD works with health care providers andarge systems to prepare for the increasedhreat of corporate campaigns. One thing islear. When the campaign is launched, if arovider has not taken steps to be prepared,

may take a year or more just to catch up.

Wildly inflated sticker prices allow hospitals to charge different rates to different patients.Unfortunately, the ones who are charged the most are those who can afford it least. If health

insurance doesnt cover your hospital care, you could be in for a severe case of sticker shock.

Twice the PriceA report on Ohio hospital pricing policies by Care for Ohio, A project of SEIU District 1199.

March 2005


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Public Interest GroupsThat Have Joined In The Charity Care Attack

The attack on charity care and pricing practices has taken on many faces. Many of theso-called public interest groups are merely fronts for unions, particularly the SEIU. Here arejust a few of the groups that have approached hospitals and healthcare systems for this typeof information:

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)

Asian Health Coalition Hospital Accountability Project Illinois Coalition for Immigrant Rights Lakeview Action Coalition Jobs with Justice Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN) Families USA Americans for Health Care Arizona for Health Care California for Health Care Colorado for Health Care DC for Health Care Georgians for Health Care Illinois for Health Care Iowa for Health Care Mainers for Health Care Maryland for Health Care Nevada for Health Care New Hampshire for Health Care North Carolinians for Health Care Oregonians for Health Care Rhode Island for Health Care Washington for Health Care

Wisconsin for Health Care

Ensure that your facility has an

aggressive diversity program in place

with a strong, executive level leader.

Review all charity care policies and

practices. Remember, if your practice

does not match your policy, your policy

is useless.

Conduct an audit of charity care

expenditures. Be open and honest about your charity

care and pricing practices.

Examine whether your facility is a good

corporate citizen and how much your

organization gives to the community.

Ensure open and positive

communications with all community

leaders, religious leaders and public

advocacy groups.

Educate all directors, managers and

front-line supervisors.

Educate employees about what is really

driving the attack on charity care and

how unionization can impact them.

Be proactive about resolving issues that

lead to union vulnerability.

Educate employees about hospital

finance.

Educate the Board of Directors about

how they might be affected by a

corporate campaign, i.e., phone calls to

their homes, targeting their place of

business, and being approached in

public.

Educate the Medical Staff about how

they might be affected, i.e., working

relationships with employees and

disruption in workflow.

f your organization is the target of a

orporate campaign surrounding charity care

nd pricing practices, the most important

hing you can do is to be prepared. Refusing

r hesitating to give information on charity

are policies and practices only makes the

ituation worse and begs the question:

What are they hiding? Part of a good

harity care policy and practice is easy

ccess to information for indigent and

ninsured patients. Therefore, if any

ndividual or organization asks for copies of

olicies or information on practices, your

mployees should be trained on how to

andle the situation. Here are a few more

teps you can take to get prepared for, and

andle, an attack on your charity care

olicies and practices:

The Service Employees International Union . . .believes that race and income should not be

barriers to accessing affordable, quality healthcare. Large hospital corporations should equitably distribute precious health care resources to meet

the needs of all the communities they serve egardless of race or income. Unfortunately, some

hospitals in Chicago are letting us down.

Separate and Unequal A report by the Hospital Accountability Project,

A project sponsored by SEIU December 2004


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Gardner, Carton & Douglas(312) 569-1325(312) 569-3325 (fax)[email protected]

K. Bruce Stickler is a partner at the Chicago

office of Gardner Carton & Douglas. Mr.

Stickler is engaged exclusively in

representing management in employment

and labor relations matters. He has

practiced employment and labor law for

more than thirty years before federal and

state courts and agencies, including the

EEOC and NLRB.

Mr. Stickler has extensive experience in the

healthcare industry. He has served as Labor

Counsel to the American Hospital

Association and Illinois Hospital Association

and as labor counsel to several religious

orders, hospitals, health care institutions

and integrated health care delivery

systems. He is a former member of theBoard of Directors of the Illinois Association

of Hospital Attorneys.

Mr. Stickler received his B.A. and J.D.

from Southern Methodist University. He

is admitted to practice in the states of

Illinois and Texas, and before the United

States Supreme Court and six U.S. Courts

of Appeal.

Spotlight on ExpertiseK. Bruce Stickler, Partner

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When a faith-based hospital sues a grieving widow over medical debt, plunging her family

deeper into poverty, some part of the health careystem has clearly failed. But which part, exactly?

One answer is to blame the hospital, which isprecisely what many advocates, elected officials

and academics have been doing . . .

Uncharitable? The New York Times

December 19, 2004


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For more information on what you can do toprotect your organization against such anattack, please contact Nyhart HR. We offer a full range of consulting services andstrategies to help your organization preparefor and handle attacks on your charity carepolicies and practices. These services

include: Assistance in developing internal

communication strategies to deal withan attack on charity care practices andpolicies.

Advice on how to handle letters anddemands for charity care practices andpolicies from public interest groups.

Assistance in setting up secretshopper programs to insure that frontline employees are handling requests

for charity care informationappropriately.

Review of policies and practicessurrounding picketing, access toorganization property, solicitation anddistribution.

Assistance in coordination of a strategy

to better inform and involve communityleaders in the organization.

Management of counter union defensecampaigns, including manager training,employee communications and strategydevelopment.

Conduct Employee RelationsAssessments to identify and resolveemployee relations issues.

Assistance with the use of focus groupsto help identify and resolve issues.

Nyhart HR Comprehensive HR Consulting

NYHART HR9320 Priority Way West DriveIndianapolis, Indiana 46240-1468

P.O. Box 80883Indianapolis, Indiana 46280-0883

317-803-7786800-428-7106

Fax: 317-803-7895E-mail: [email protected]

PRESORTEDFIRST CLASSU.S. Postage

PA I DINDIANAPOLIS, INPERMIT NO. 629Indianapolis Office

9320 Priority Way West DriveIndianapolis, Indiana 46240 -1468

Nyhart.Biz

Save the Date November 18th, 2005 Do you want to stay in touch with the most recent information on the subject of

charity care? Do you still have questions about the new attack on charity care?

Nyhart is partnering with Gardner, Carton & Douglas to present a seminar on the topic of charity care. This seminar will give you a chance to talk directly to attorneys, consultants,experts and clients who have experienced this issue first hand. Come find out how other hospitals and healthcare administrators have dealt with an attack on charity care andwhat you can do to competently prepare your organization for a potential attack.

This seminar will be held in Chicago. Watch your mailbox for more information or call usat (317) 803-7786.

Mary Touney, R.N., , M.S.Senior Vice President

Leslie King, J.D.Senior Vice President

Lisa McKnight, J.D., SPHR Senior Consultant

(Nyhart) What to Do When Faced With the Threat of a Corporate Campaign

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