Portage Health Reviews Its Future

One career field that has had plenty of regional ups and downs lately is healthcare.

And national health care reform has local medical providers bracing for what’s ahead in 2012 and beyond.

Local leaders in the Keweenaw were treated to lunch while Portage Health presented its 2011 review and laid out their plans for an uncertain future.

The upcoming year will likely be characterized by the changes brought on by the Affordable Care Act.

Portage Health CEO and president Jim Bogan explained the successes and challenges facing the hospital.

In short, the future looks bright, but Bogan says the outlook as soon as March or April is very uncertain because of uncertainty in Congress, to say nothing of the remainder of the year following those months.

Changes include millions of people being added to government-provided health insurance and less money being paid out to health care providers.

With the rising cost of providing health care to a population living longer than ever before, that’s a troublesome outlook.

Regardless of what the future holds, Bogan believes Portage Health can weather the storm.

Until those changes happen, health care providers will just need to keep an eye on the horizon.