LOWVILLE, New York (WWNY) – Three north country hospitals once at risk of losing millions in federal funding, may lose no more.
Carthage Area Hospital, Lewis County General Hospital, and Gouverneur Hospital, were all in jeopardy of losing what’s called their “critical access hospital” designations.
Why? It all had to do with a small change by the the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on how certain roads are classified.
Under those new rules, Gouverneur, Lewis County General, and Carthage Area hospitals were too close to what the government calls primary roads like Routes 26, 3 and 11 and wouldn’t qualify for the critical access hospital designation or the money that comes with it.
After years of fighting by both the hospital administrations, and local government officials like Senator Charles Schumer and Representative Elise Stefanik, that rule is set to be reversed.
This means the three hospitals are no longer in danger of losing the millions in federal funds, which allows them to continue serving their communities, where many of their patients are on Medicare, Medicaid, or TRICARE.
Lewis County Health System CEO Jerry Cayer says this is a big deal for the hospital. It gets about $3.5 million annually with the designation.
“We’re a breakeven budget, right? Imagine having a $3.5 million loss appear literally overnight because of not maintaining our standing in the critical access program,” Cayer said.
Below is a statement from Kelly J. Cicchinelli, Vice President of Finance at St. Lawrence Health, which runs Gouverneur Hospital.
“The dollars Gouverneur Hospital receives in reimbursement as a Critical Access Hospital are crucial to support health care delivery in our under-served areas of the North Country region. In our geographic area, access to care is an ongoing issue, and the smaller critical access hospitals provide quality care locally, so our community members do not have to travel extraordinary distances.
Gouverneur Hospital provides 24/7 emergency care staffed by physicians, along with inpatient acute, rehab, detox, and outpatient substance use and behavioral health counseling services. With the extreme need for substance use and behavioral health services in the North Country, combined with the provider shortages in these areas, it is essential that Gouverneur maintain these services. Along with primary care services, and in affiliation with Canton-Potsdam Hospital, Gouverneur provides specialty care in OB, podiatry, general surgery, cardiology and orthopedics.
Now more than ever, hospitals nationwide are challenged with the increasing costs of care driven by employee shortages, volatility of wage rates, agency staffing costs, inflation, and ongoing impacts of COVID on operations. CAH reimbursement assists Gouverneur Hospital with maintaining a high quality of care, while remaining fiscally viable for our community.”
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