Why a Consortium?
Working together as part of a non-profit consortium will ensure that proton beam therapy is available to all in Michigan who need it, regardless of where they live or what hospital their insurance covers.
The state of Michigan and its citizens can’t afford to have individual institutions developing their own proton beam programs. Building a proton treatment center will cost about $160 million to build and 2.5 times traditional photon radiation therapy to treat patients. Estimated projections show that Michigan will need one proton therapy unit for every 10 million people by 2020. That means the state can support one proton unit based on current population projections. The consortium will ensure appropriate utilization and cost-management.
This consortium of non-profit health systems – the trusted source of medical care for Michigan’s citizens – is best poised to investigate this promising therapy for the state. The patients we serve are our friends, our neighbors and our colleagues. Together, we will investigate the best new therapies for our own community and state.
The economic benefit to Michigan is greater with a consortium than with a single hospital provider. One, a consortium approach will spread an economic benefit across a wide array of providers, thereby providing benefit to multiple communities; two, a consortium ensures that one center will operate at high efficiency versus multiple centers operating at low volumes, risking financial and operational viability. It is in the best interest of everyone -- patients, employers, taxpayers -- to manage health care costs appropriately.
A large and diverse group of clinicians from throughout the state offers the benefit of a wide range of expertise. The consortium could develop standards and collect data to ensure that appropriate patients are being referred and that doctors have sufficient expertise in radiation oncology to deliver high quality care.
Proton beam technology is intended for cancer patients and should be tied to robust cancer research and treatment programs. In our collaborative, we have the state's two National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers (University of Michigan and Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center), the region's top three research centers (U-M, Karmanos and Henry Ford Health System) and an NCI-designated Comprehensive Community Oncology Center (Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital – Ann Arbor). A single hospital ownership model can't maximize the opportunity to advance cancer research or efficiently and effectively serve the patient population who may need this treatment.
The consortium approach is supported by a large number of providers, purchasers and employers, as well as by the Economic Alliance of Michigan, Michigan Manufacturers Association and the Small Business Association of Michigan.
