Wyoming Medical Center in Casper is facing cuts of nearly $8 million per year in Medicare reimbursements due to its pending loss of its "sole community provider" status, according to a Billings Gazette report.
Medicare has classified WMC has a "sole community provider" since 1992, meaning the hospital provides the full range of services based on community needs regardless of the profitability of each service, the report said. Medicare compensates WMC in order to somewhat offset any losses. However, in order to keep that designation, other hospitals in the primary area WMC serves must have less than eight percent of volume of inpatient days."
Some neurosurgeons left WMC in 2005 and opened the physician-owned Mountain View Regional Hospital in Casper in 2008, and according to the report, its patient volume exceeded the eight percent in 2010.
If WMC does lose its "sole community provider" status, it would eliminate its projected $7.77 million profit, the report said.
Read the Billings Gazette report on Wyoming Medical Center.
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Medicare has classified WMC has a "sole community provider" since 1992, meaning the hospital provides the full range of services based on community needs regardless of the profitability of each service, the report said. Medicare compensates WMC in order to somewhat offset any losses. However, in order to keep that designation, other hospitals in the primary area WMC serves must have less than eight percent of volume of inpatient days."
Some neurosurgeons left WMC in 2005 and opened the physician-owned Mountain View Regional Hospital in Casper in 2008, and according to the report, its patient volume exceeded the eight percent in 2010.
If WMC does lose its "sole community provider" status, it would eliminate its projected $7.77 million profit, the report said.
Read the Billings Gazette report on Wyoming Medical Center.
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