File PHOTO / COURTESY, MAINEHEALTH
Dr. Andrew Mueller
August 8, 2024
New England hospital CEOs warn lawmakers of crisis in rural health care system
FILE PHOTO
MaineHealth is Maine’s largest health care system, and includes Portland-based Maine Medical Center, shown here.
MaineHealth’s CEO was one of three in the Northeast who recently told federal lawmakers that rural health care systems are in crisis.
“As a family physician by training, it has been difficult to watch our rural communities struggle to maintain access to high-quality care for their residents,” said Dr. Andrew Mueller. “Our proposals align with, and support, our MaineHealth vision of ‘working together so our communities are the healthiest in America.’”
In late July, Mueller, Dartmouth Health CEO Dr. Joanne Conroy and University of Vermont Health Network CEO Dr. Sunny Eappen sent lawmakers a unified message: New policies, programs and payments are needed to ensure patients in rural communities are able to get the high-quality care, when and where they need it.
Mueller and Conroy were in Washington, D.C., to meet with Maine and New Hampshire’s senators and a senator from Vermont. Eappen joined by video. An additional meeting was held with the staff of U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, according to a spokesperson.
Rural Americans are more likely to develop chronic illnesses and die compared to their urban counterparts, the hospital systems said in a news release.
Patients in the rural communities served by the three organizations face common challenges — growing older, suffering from chronic disease, unmet behavioral and mental health needs, and a lack of affordable housing, among others.
Ongoing workforce shortages and reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid that do not cover the cost of providing care compound the challenges of preserving access to vital services.
The three leaders said the federal government can take steps to preserve access to care in rural areas. They discussed solutions with their congressional delegations, including proposals that would increase access, increase funding from Medicare and reduce regulatory burdens, allowing more flexibility in providing care. The proposed changes would be measured for success.
Challenges, they said, include managing expenses in the face of escalating costs.
The organizations said they’ve instituted initiatives to address the problems.
Last year, MaineHealth invested over $500 million to subsidize critical health care services that are under-reimbursed by payors. At the same time, the organization exceeded its budget savings target of $100 million through initiatives such as improved care delivery models and administrative efficiencies, according to the release.
The UVM Health Network covered the cost of $22 million in care for over 8,000 patients and helped patients access free prescription medication, equipment and support. Dartmouth Health’s telehealth center connects clinical expertise to distant sites and potentially lower costs for patients and systems.
All three systems are the largest private employers in their respective states.
MaineHealth is a not-for-profit, integrated health system that includes a Level 1 trauma medical center, eight additional licensed hospitals, pediatric care services, a behavioral health care network, diagnostic services, and home health, hospice and senior care services. It has over 2,000 employed providers and approximately 23,000 care team members and serves 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments