HCHC braces for changes in Iowa Medicaid program

BY BRYCE KELLY

Mt. Pleasant News

The Henry County Health Center (HCHC) Board of Trustees say they are committed to adapting to the impending changes in Iowa Medicaid next year, with little time left before the changes are set to be enacted.

?It looks like it is still going forward Jan. 1, and the only thing that can stop it is the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS),? said HCHC CEO Robb Gardner, as he addressed the HCHC Board of Trustees on Tuesday afternoon.

The upcoming plan by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, proposes the privatization of the state?s Medicaid program. Since its creation, the plan has drawn many critics who say the plan is disorganized and leaves too many questions unanswered by the goal implementation date of Jan. 1, 2016.

In order for the plan to be totally green-lit, Branstad must get permission from CMS, which would shift management of the state?s $4.2 billion Medicaid program to four for-profit private insurance companies. The program provides care to poor children and their families, disabled individuals and some low-income adults.

According to Gov. Branstad, the privatization move will improve Iowa?s healthcare and cut costs, but many say otherwise.

?(With the new plan) there is just a lot of issues, especially with prior authorization, that will cause burdens on the providers and confusion to a lot of patients,? said Gardner. ?Will we evolve? Yes. But it is going to mean a lot of changes and there will be a great impact on us with this.?

Pre-authorizations consume a great deal of time from physicians and their staff, instead of seeing to patients. Many physicians say they are frustrated by pre-authorizations and the time it takes for insurance companies to respond.

At this point, HCHC has recently received official contracts and provider manuals from all four for-profit private insurance companies, but have yet to sign contracts with any, as they are still being reviewed by HCHC officials.

?To sign an agreement just to sign an agreement is not good business sense,? said Gardner. ?We want to try and see what we can do to work with these insurance companies, but I don?t know how much negotiation we can really do. This entire process (in getting contracts out to HCHC and other hospitals) has just been very rushed and jumbled.?

One of the largest concerns at hand, according to HCHC officials, is simply educating the general public of the upcoming changes in a way that is easy to understand.

?We do have a large amount of people that are receiving Medicaid benefits at Park Place,? said HCHC CNO Jodi Geerts. ?It?s difficult for those people to understand, and it?s just as hard for us who work in this all day to understand all of the new rules. We are trying to educate people as much as we can and make sure they have all the information available. We want them to know what these upcoming changes could mean for them and for us.?

Besides discussing Medicaid, the board also moved to approve a change in HCHC?s organizational chart to create a new position of chief operating officer. Doing so, according to Gardner, will free up time amongst the CNO and CEO to do more strategic planning and operational tasks.

?Right now, I have eight departments reporting to me along with all the administrators?with some of the policy and financial challenges we face, we need to be able to have the time to move the organization forward, and I think this is a way to do that.?

?With the situation we have right now in the state with all the changes going on, I just think we need to break Robb free to spend time doing some long-range planning and stay on top of things,? said board member Ron Clouse. ?We as a hospital need to know where we are going, be productive and continue to build funds.?

The board did move to approve the change.

In other news, the board discussed the following:

? Approved the nominating committee for 2016

? Reviewed HCHC?s property insurance policy

? Approved the consent agenda with reports from the CNO, CFO and CEO

The board adjourned the regular meeting before moving into closed session to discuss patient care quality. The next HCHC Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 15, at noon, in the HCHC Board Room.