Changes in Medicaid spur changes to HCHC?s tax budget

BY BRYCE KELLY

Mt. Pleasant News

It?s been several years since the Henry County Health Center?s (HCHC) board of trustees have had to raise the tax budget for the health center, but largely due to modifications being made in Iowa?s Medicaid program, that all changed on Tuesday.

?We are all in agreement of moving the levy rate to $1.17 from $0.81. It?s a small change for the constituent, but it will generate about $300,000 for the health center,? said Robb Gardner, HCHC?s CEO.

Even with the slight increase in its levy rate, HCHC?s new rate is still below neighboring hospitals in Washington and Jefferson counties.

A large part of the increased levy rate is due to the reduction in federal and state payments that HCHC has received over the last year, according to Gardner as he addressed the HCHC board of trustees on Tuesday. But, as the health center has discovered, that isn?t the only factor playing into the increase.

?With the recent privatization of Medicaid in the state of Iowa, we will be losing approximately $275,000 to $300,000 a year in payments, and that?s just right off the top,? Gardner said. ?As we have discussed and researched, we have no doubt that there will be extensive denials from medical claims and prior authorization. So, really, we will be happy if we only lose $300,000, and we hope that?s all we lose.?

With no public comments made as part of the public hearing to approve the new levy rate, the increase was approved unanimously.

In other news, Jennifer Montgomery has now been hired as the new Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) to replace past CNO, Jodi Geerts.

Additionally, a total of 30 applications have been submitted for the Chief Operating Officer (COO) position that is currently open within the health center. According to Gardner, all interviews for the COO position have been completed, and a decision on who will be hired will be announced soon.

?We had a lot of great applications from in and out of the state, which was very encouraging to see,? said Gardner. ?I am looking forward to bringing on a new staff member very soon.?

Lastly, newly appointed chief of staff, Dr. Djonggi Situmeang, gave his monthly medical staff report and reviewed monthly appointments and reappointments with the board of trustees. According to Dr. Situmeang, it has been business as usual for medical staff.

?As a whole, we do have a very healthy and functional staff,? he said. ?Of course we do, as any hospital does, have issues that come up. But, overall, we are fortunate to have a very top notch staff that can take care of things when problems do arise and who work well as a team.?

The HCHC Board of Trustees will meet in their regular session again on Tuesday, March 15, at noon, in the HCHC Board Room.