A settlement in a long standing court case over Medicaid reimbursements for Kentucky hospitals is a huge help, but not the final solution. That’s according to Kentucky Hospital Association President Nancy Galvagni.
The joint announcement from U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear this week means $383 million for 54 rural hospitals. Galvagni says previous cuts in Medicaid reimbursements affected the financial stability of some healthcare providers. “It becomes very difficult for hospitals to be able to sustain their facilities, their equipment, and their staff on a long-term basis because if you’re not getting payment to cover your costs, you have to defer upgrading your equipment and your facilities and it makes it very difficult to meet your expenses,” said Galvagni.
Galvagni said the halting of elective surgeries during coronavirus, something she says was appropriate, caused significant financial pain. “It’s not the silver bullet for hospitals. This alone isn’t necessarily going to keep all our hospitals open long term. We have a lot of these challenges, losses due to COVID, as I mentioned $1.6 billion in losses. It will be very key to get those losses covered,” said Galvagni.
Just announced Thursday is a separate $151.8 million payment to 11 Kentucky hospitals as part of federal COVID-19 relief funding. Galvagni said still more federal support is needed as Kentucky hospitals lost $1.6 billion over a few months when elective surgeries were canceled due to coronavirus.
If you appreciate access to this important content during this global health emergency, please help us continue to provide public service journalism and information to Central and Eastern Kentucky communities. Please make your contribution to WEKU today.
