Baylor, UT sign county contract
The Texas Medical Center’s two medical schools will continue to staff Ben Taub and Lyndon B. Johnson hospitals under new deals reached this week, averting the possible disruption that’s loomed since the Harris Health System board voted to terminate its longstanding contract a year and a half ago.
The new contracts with Baylor College of Medicine and McGovern Medical School at UTHealth will give Harris Health, the county’s safety net hospital district, greater control over leadership appointments and provide the medical school quality-over-quantity incentives that would improve staffs’ financial reimbursement.
“We’ve been operating with the schools under a framework that was developed more than 25 years ago and health care has changed dramatically during that time,” George Masi, the outgoing president of Harris Health, said in a statement. “The new contracts reflect the realities of today’s medical landscape and provide the flexibility required to address the changing needs of our community.”
The Harris Health board had triggered a five-year wind-down of the current agreement in August 2018 after 18 months of failed talks, a move that put pressure on Baylor and McGovern to negotiate. Masi, whose last day was Friday, said at the time that Harris Health “felt most of the pain” under the existing contract.
The new contracts will replace the old one July 1 and extend 15 years.
Previously, there was a single contract with an entity that represented both schools. Now the schools — Baylor staffs Ben Taub and McGovern staffs LBJ — each have their own contract with Harris Health.
Under the new deal, Harris Health will ultimately have final say in the appointment of the chief of staff, assistant chief of staff, medical director and service chiefs, often an issue of conflict between medical schools and hospitals that prefer a non-academic doctor in the post. In this case, because the entire staffs of Ben Taub and LBJ are provided by a single school, the alternative appointment would still come from the school.
The schools will receive greater compensation if they reach jointly established metrics, which reflect the industry’s increasing emphasis on outcomes rather than volume. The schools will receive no less compensation if they don’t reach the new metrics, said Harris Health officials.
Dr. Paul Klotman, president of Baylor, and Dr. Giuseppe Colasurdo, president of UTHealth, said they were happy to continue their long-term partnerships with the hospitals. Both said the relationship is critical to their mission and beneficial to the people of Harris County.
“The new contracts reflect the realities of today’s medical landscape and provide the flexibility required to address the changing needs of our community.”
George Masi, Harris Health’s outgoing president