ICYMI: Lawmakers from greater Minnesota say that HCMC is a statewide priority.
HCMC is a statewide resource – providing trauma and burn care for patients who are brought in from across the state. But its in financial crisis and projected to lose $1.7 billion in the next 10 years due to changes in federal policy.
Not a one-hospital issue: Dr. Rahul Koranne, CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association, spoke to the Rochester Post Bulletin about the issue, but explained that HCMC is not alone.
“At least 31 hospitals are financially distressed, all at the same time, and many of them have literally run out of cash,” said Koranne.
From the Post Bulletin:
One longstanding factor affecting hospital finances, Koranne said, is uncompensated care. This occurs when uninsured patients cannot afford to pay their bill — and sometimes have that debt forgiven through a hospital’s charity care program — and when reimbursements from Medicaid and Medicare don’t fully cover the cost of delivering those services.
This factor often hits rural hospitals harder, as rural communities usually have a larger share of Medicaid and Medicare enrollees. But, Koranne said, it also impacts urban hospitals such as HCMC who provide care to a higher percentage of publicly insured and uninsured patients.
Possible solutions: Koranne suggested a “short-term, ‘COVID-style’ emergency funding pool to stabilize at-risk hospitals and preserve the 340B program, which requires pharmaceutical companies to give qualifying hospitals discounts on their medications.”
