AUGUSTA – Some hospital executives agreed there are things they can do to cut overhead costs, part of what the Commission to Study Maine’s Hospitals is recommending. But some objected to changes they called unnecessary.

During public testimony Thursday on the commission’s results, most liked the idea of building a statewide electronic medical records system, which could make Maine the first state to do so.

Creating electronic medical records would save millions, testified Dennis Shubert of the Maine Quality Forum, by cutting back on paperwork and reducing medical tests ordered because previous test results weren’t available.

And many praised the commission, which was charged with recommending changes to improve care and lower hospital costs, for directing Maine’s congressional delegation to make boosting federal Medicare reimbursement a priority.

But several of the other commission recommendations were met with criticism or opposition, especially by hospitals.

Some said hospitals do not need a voluntary consortium for hospital collaboration to help them to work closer together, one of the recommendations.

Roy Hitchings, chief financial officer of Penobscot Bay Medical Center and Northeast Health, said he understands that rising health costs are a big problem, but “I believe that people’s bigger fear is that quality of care may not be available to them when they need it most.”

Hitchings said he didn’t want to get into “dueling data,” but disagreed with data used by the commission that concluded that Maine hospitals are more expensive than other hospitals around the nation.

Regardless of which data is correct, the commission’s chair, former Bath Iron Works boss Bill Haggett, said he’s most concerned about the fact that health care in Maine has become too expensive. Costs must be lowered.

Tony Marple, chief financial officer for MaineGeneral Health, which has hospitals in Augusta and Waterville, said part of the overall problem is that fees for medical services must be done away with, replaced by providers getting paid for keeping communities healthy.

Marple acknowledged that hospital spending on non-patient care “is a huge problem.” He said it is unwise for the commission to recommend voluntary caps in hospital profits, and that the emphasis should be in performance outcomes.

He called the commission’s recommendations that hospital boards review the number and salaries of executives “straw dogs.” Total salaries of vice presidents at MaineGeneral represent less than 1 percent of expenses, Marple said.

Haggett agreed that the executive salary total is a small part of the budget, but reviewing top salaries – financial reports show that some Maine hospital presidents make more than $300,000 to $400,000 a year – would send a loud message to both hospital workers and patients “paying the bills,” Haggett said.

“Do you know how many vice presidents you have?” he asked Marple. Marple answered 15.

“You have 17,” Haggett said. “That’s a lot.”

During Thursday’s hearing, no ordinary consumers testified, but Hilary Schneider of Consumers for Affordable Health Care did. Schneider praised the commission for recommending voluntary caps on hospital profit margins. If hospitals had limited their operating margins to 3 percent from 1997 through 2003, consumers would have saved $205 million, she said.

Carol Carothers of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill said much of the recommendations are excellent, but she criticized the study for leaving out the mentally ill.

Poor policies, combined with an insufficient number of beds, including beds at the new Augusta Mental Health Institute, means that jails have become the safety net for the mentally ill, Carothers said.

Haggett said studying psychiatric hospitals units would have been too big a task, and that the commission will recommend that be examined.

After another hearing in Bangor today, the hospital commission will meet Monday to review testimony. It plans to submit legislation from its recommendations to lawmakers later this month, Haggett said.