Pictured: St. Anthony President and CEO Allen Anderson (L) and Chief Financial Officer Eric Salmonson (R)
St. Anthony Regional Hospital (SARH) is now more than a half-year into applying for a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) designation to improve the fiscal stability of one of rural Iowa’s largest medical providers. SARH President and CEO Allen Anderson says the CAH designation is something the hospital has been seeking for years.
The criteria for CAH eligibility were recently loosened to the point where SARH could apply, and that process started earlier this year. Once approved, the designation’s most significant impact is how the hospital will be compensated for Medicare and Medicaid-funded care, which makes up more than half of St. Anthony’s patient load. Chief Financial Officer Eric Salmonson says this will significantly increase the hospital’s reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid patients.
Salmonson says SARH has essentially been providing services for more than half their patients at a loss for the last 5+ years. Typically, hospitals try to make up the difference through commercial insurance, but those contracts are often negotiated years in advance and have not kept up with the inflation and the rising cost of providing care.
St. Anthony has experienced an estimated $4 million deficit in just the first four months of the hospital’s current fiscal year, but Salmonson says the CAH designation will put the hospital back into the black based on their projections. The designation does come with some stipulations, but Anderson says they will not result in any changes to patient care.
Anderson adds they do not anticipate any significant staffing changes as a direct result of the CAH transition. Preparing the designation paperwork has been a lengthy process, but Anderson says they are ready to submit their application.
Those surveys and reviews are expected to take another several months at a minimum. Anderson and Salmonson made their comments during a live interview with Carroll Broadcasting this (Wednesday) morning. A link to the full audio is included below.
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