The New York State Department of Health has encouraged Massena (N.Y.)
Charles F. Fahd II, Massena Memorial's CEO, told the Times he and members of the hospital board recently discussed their ongoing study of possibly transitioning from municipal to private, nonprofit status with health department officials. The hospital launched the study earlier this year because of concerns about costs and its inability to share services with other healthcare providers because of Massena Memorial's municipal status, according to the report.
The hospital faces numerous financial pressures, according to Mr. Fahd. He cited losses over the next decade including a $10.5 million reduction in Medicaid reimbursement under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a $2.7 million Medicaid pay cut due to inpatient coding adjustments and an additional $1.9 million Medicare reimbursement reduction because of sequestration, according to the report.
The privatization study will consist of three phases: studying all contracts with vendors, employees and others to see if they prohibit a change in status, implementation of the transition and acquiring tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service. An estimated date of completion for these phases was not disclosed, according to the report.
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