Button Testifies On Bill

On Dec. 2, Charlie Button, the CEO of Dayton General Hospital, gave this testimony in Olympia regarding House Bill 2130 that would change Medicaid reimbursement for all critical access hospitals and reduce Dayton's hospital budget by $404,000. No decision has yet been made by the legislature.

On behalf of the Board of Commissioners of Dayton General Hospital and the residents of Dayton and Waitsburg, Washington, I urge you defeat House Bill 2130.

Our state benefits from the strong network of rural and urban hospitals working together to ensure appropriate care for every patient. House Bill 2130 has the potential to decimate this network and throw off the balance of healthcare in the state. Permanent damage to the 38 Critical Access Hospitals and ultimately the communities they serve would happen by removing cost based reimbursement.

Please consider the following:

Cost based reimbursement was initiated by the federal government to allow rural hospitals an opportunity to continue providing critical care for their communities. The State of Washington also adopted cost based reimbursement 10 years ago for a reason, which is to allow quality patient care throughout all regions of the state.

Even large urban hospitals agree that removing cost based reimbursement would excessively impact Critical Access Hospitals. Statistically, rural communities are older, sicker and poorer than urban communities.

All hospitals, regardless of size, must be able to provide critical services 24 hours a day. Nursing staff, x-ray techs, laboratory techs, physicians and other key personnel must be available, even if they are not utilized as fully or as frequently as in urban hospitals.

Critical Access Hospitals have a very low operating margin and many are already operating in the red. Many have struggled to survive financially but have been innovative and efficient to stay viable. There is however, a limit to innovation and efficiencies and many are approaching that limit.

Dayton General Hospital may well serve as a typical example.

Dayton General Hospital serves a population of approximately 6,000 rural community members in Dayton and Waitsburg areas. A significant portion of the community is elderly and/or low income with limited transportation.

It serves an area exceeding 1,000 square miles, with hundreds of miles of highways and secondary roads.

It provides trauma care for injuries that occur at Ski Bluewood, lengthy stretches of the Snake River and vast expanses of the Blue Mountains.

The hospital operates a 49 bed nursing home and two rural health clinics employing six providers.

Dayton General Hospital is the largest employer in the community with 130 employees contributing over $6.1 million annually in payroll and benefits.

The nearest hospital is 35 miles away and 75 miles for major trauma.

We truly appreciate the enormous challenge that the legislature is facing to balance the budget and trust you will look at fair and equitable options. Losing cost based reimbursement has the potential to destroy not only our local hospital but our schools and our community. This is truly a matter of life and death.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely, Charles Button