Many hospitals in Missouri are sweating out whether the state will expand its Medicaid program under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and for one hospital, its financial survival may depend on it, according to a KFVS report.
Kerry Noble, former CEO of Pemiscot Memorial Hospital in Hayti, Mo., who is now consulting the hospital, told KFVS in February the hospital may have to close if the state legislature does not approve Medicaid expansion. As the state still grapples with the decision, closure still remains an option for Pemiscot Memorial.
"I think [closure is] very much the case because what's going to happen to us is over time, it's going to erode our ability to upgrade our clinical equipment capabilities, maintain the level of services we need to offer our population, and ultimately I think it's just going to reach a point where our financial liability is going to suffer," Mr. Noble told KFVS. "We're not going to be able to gain access to capital. We're not going to be able to borrow necessarily the money we need."
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