Gundersen Lutheran, Winneshiek Medical Center officials still far apart on Gundersen Lutheran Health Plan

There are 1,500 people in Northeast Iowa who get their health insurance through the Gundersen Lutheran Health Plan.  Those people can go to the hospitals in Cresco, Guttenberg, Waukon and West Union.  But if they go to Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah, they will have to pay a higher deductible because the hospital is not an "in-network provider."

Several Gundersen Lutheran officials met Wednesday with the Winneshiek Medical Center Board of Trustees.  Gundersen Lutheran-Decorah manager Trudy Belay told the hospital board that Gundersen Lutheran is committed to supporting the local hospital.  Gundersen Lutheran physician Dr. Janet Ryan told the board "We aren't a feeder system for La Crosse."

But when Gundersen Lutheran Senior Vice President Jerry Arendt pressed the hospital board to re-enter contract negotiations with Gundersen Lutheran Health Plan, he got some resistance.  Dr. William Remington complained to Arendt, "You guys have already shown me you're willing to refer people elsewhere," while Chief Operating Officer David Jordahl stated bluntly, "We own a medical clinic that's in competition with your clinic."  Both Remington and Jordahl noted that customers of Gundersen Lutheran Health Plan could not see Mayo Clinic specialists as in-network providers.

The two sides held talks in 2009, but those talks concentrated on language issues and never progressed to discussing possible financial arrangements.  That's because the hospital's management committee in April of 2009 recommended that Winneshiek Medical Center not proceed with a Gundersen Lutheran Health Plan contract.

Arendt says the health plan has seen strong growth in Northeast Iowa, especially Allamakee County.  He says a reputation for good customer service and fair renewal rate pricing mean Gundersen Lutheran Health Plan will continue to grow in this area--and he'd rather cooperate with the hospital than compete with it.