Regarding “OIG proposal threatens two-thirds of enhanced payments to critical-access hospitals”, this proposal is very concerning and off target as we seek to improve the health status of our country. It makes me wonder if this is little more than a negotiating tactic with the hopes of landing on the Obama administration's “10 mile rule” and somehow, everyone thanking the government for scaling back its initial proposal.
An objective review would show that rural hospitals provide less-expensive care to Medicare beneficiaries who are generally older, sicker and poorer than their urban counterparts. Furthermore, rural communities increasingly rely on their local hospitals for intellectual capital and population health initiatives.
I can assure you there will be no “thanking” going on in Friendship, Wis., if any portion of this proposal goes through and the residents risk no longer having adequate reimbursement to keep a local inpatient unit and ER services.
Jeremy Normington-Slay
CEOMoundview Memorial Hospital and Clinics Friendship, Wis.
