Ozarks Medical Center--MO

Document ID: CMS-2008-0079-0004
Document Type: Public Submission
Agency: Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services
Received Date: July 08 2008, at 04:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Date Posted: July 9 2008, at 12:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
Comment Start Date: June 27 2008, at 12:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
Comment Due Date: August 26 2008, at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time
Tracking Number: 8065ed99
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This is comment on Proposed Rule

Medicare Program; Changes in Conditions of Participation Requirements and Payment Provisions for Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers (CMS-1910-P2)

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We are an independentally owned hospital with 96 beds and 8 hospital based RHC's in various small communities in counties adjacent to West Plains, Howell County, Missouri. We struggle daily in efforts to recruit Primary Care Physicians, Nurse Practitioners and Physician's Assistants to our very rural area. I have been told repeatedly by these professionals that West Plains is just "too rural" for me. West Plains is a small city and if it is "too rural", then you might imagine how rural our surrounding communities are. We have patients tell us on a daily basis how difficult it is to get in to see a primary care health provider. Without RHC status, it will be very difficult at best to provide health care to these individuals. I fear that they will end up "sicker" in our already "over capacity" emergency room. The costs of health care for these people will end up being a much greater burden to the government then if we had maintained RHC status as is. The changes proposed to the way RHC's are paid will only increase our bad debt and put us out of business. The exception process will only add to the already huge burden of providing documentation and complying with regulations. Our mission is to provide quality health care to our local community. Please DO NOT set us up to fail in this mission.