Governor Doyle signs Rural Healthcare Access Act at Columbus Community Hospital
Grassroots advocacy through the efforts of a joint member task force, chaired by Ed Harding, President and CEO of Columbus Community Hospital, resulted in stopping a 10% Medicaid cut to Wisconsin Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) among other provisions.

The 2009-11 state budget included over $600 million in Medicaid cuts, which included a proposal for a permanent 10% cut ($15 million) in Medicaid payments to rural CAHs. The cut took effect on Jan. 1, effecting 59 CAHs across Wisconsin, including Columbus Community Hospital.

“In 2008, 14 CAHs had negative operating margins and nearly half of all CAHs lost money or broke even,” said Harding. “CAHs, such as Columbus Community Hospital, provide round-the-clock care to their communities. In many rural areas, if it were not for these hospitals these services would not exist.”

In response to the cuts, the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) and the Rural Wisconsin Hospital Cooperative (RWHC) convened a joint member task force, chaired by Harding, to develop a solution. After considering options, the group unanimously decided to pursue a new CAH assessment, known as the Rural Healthcare Access Act – AB 770/SB 553.

The bill, which allows CAHs to pool their resources to prevent the cuts and preserve critical access to hospitals and hospital supported health care in rural areas, was approved by the full Legislature on Tuesday, April 13 and signed by Governor Jim Doyle on Monday, April 19 at Columbus Community Hospital. An assessment (approximately 1.6%) will be imposed on each CAH’s gross patient revenue and will generate approximately $10.6 million in FY 2011. The revenue will be used to:

• Restore the 10% cut and keep roughly $7 million in federal matching Medicaid dollars in Wisconsin that would otherwise be lost because of the cut.
• Capture an additional $11 million in federal matching Medicaid funding that will be used to increase Medicaid payments to CAHs.
• Provide $1 million for additional rural residencies for graduating physicians and increase loan forgiveness programs for health professionals choosing to practice in rural areas.

“The legislation helps ensure we will be able to continue providing access to high quality care in our communities and to train future rural health care professionals,” said Harding.

The WHA serves as an advocate for its members to lead in the provision of high quality, affordable, and accessible health care services, resulting in healthier Wisconsin communities.

The RWHC serves as a catalyst for regional collaboration and as an aggressive creative force on behalf of rural communities and rural health. RWHC offers its members a wide range of shared services that meet local community health needs, including staffing, consulting, management, networking and education.