Health System Squeezed Again

Sometimes national news hits home. It did recently for the Columbia County Health System when CFO John Hennessey announced that the local health service will likely see a reduction in Medicare payments of around $93,000 in the next 12 months.

The federal budget sequester, which made across-the- board budget cuts to many federal agencies, also caused reductions in Medicare payments to healthcare providers.

"Our income is about 55% Medicare," said CCHS CEO Dale Polla, stressing that any changes in that federal pro- gram have a big effect locally.

CCHS, which includes Dayton General Hospital, Booker Rest Home and clinics in Dayton and Waitsburg, has an an- nual budget of about $12 million. And it has been operating in the black for a couple of years. So the expected reduction won't be devastating; more like a sprained ankle than a heart attack.

In a press release sent to The Times, Columbia County Hospital District board member Jim Kime outlined several steps CCHS is taking to improve its revenue outlook. These include installation of a 16-slice, Computed Tomography (CT) scanner and the opening of two new emergency rooms. "Additionally, we are proud of our excellent rehabilitation center and the qualified physical therapists we employ," Kime said.

"We are hopeful these improvements and others under consideration will increase the hospital district's ability to recoup some of this lost revenue, due to the sequester cut- backs of reimbursement by the Federal Government," Polla added.

When Medicaid payments for low-income patients are included, about three-fourths of our local healthcare system's income comes from government assistance programs. This is a fact, whether we like it or not. Those of us with employer-provided health insurance, or individual insur- ance, make up the other 25 percent.

More cuts to the Medicare and Medicaid programs are probably inevitable. They're being proposed by both Demo- crats and Republicans in (the other) Washington. In order for our nation's fiscal strength to be restored, federal spending for healthcare will have to grow at a rate lower than what is currently projected. It's not about cutting healthcare spend- ing; it's about putting some restraint on its explosive growth.

Here in the Touchet Valley, having a healthy local hos- pital and comprehensive healthcare services are vital to our way of life. If our hospital and clinics were to close, many of our neighbors would probably have to leave as well. And forget about attracting new residents.

The best way each of us can help make our health system stronger is by using it. CCHS is working hard to improve and grow its services, and we encourage our readers to use them.

If you have an emergency and our local hospital is gone, it's going to be a long ride to the ER.