Some Colorado lawmakers craft plan to provide millions to providers that serve under, uninsured
Rural healthcare in Colorado is on life support. The Colorado Hospital Association says half of the state's rural hospitals are operating in the red, and two behavioral health facilities and two obstetrics programs in rural Colorado recently announced they're shutting their doors.
A new study by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform finds that 10 rural hospitals here are so cash-strapped, they're in danger of closing.
Located on the western edge of the San Luis Valley, Rio Grande Hospital serves one of Colorado's poorest communities. A total of 70% of its patients are on Medicare and Medicaid, meaning the hospital loses money on seven in ten patients who walk through its doors.
"We have to be sustainable, and it's been tough the last few years," says CEO Arlene Harms.
The hospital and its four primary care clinics have been operating in the red for years.
With just eight providers at the hospital to serve 10,000 patients, Harms says, staff members wear many hats, "If somebody is needed in the ER, several of us go back there and several are in the executive staff... so we all do a lot to make it work but we all love what we do."
It goes beyond caring for the sick. Employees raised money for a Community Wellness Center last year that includes exercise equipment, a meditation room, and a greenhouse.
But it's the health of the hospital that keeps Harms up at night, "I often times feel forgotten just because we're so far away from the metro (area)."
As the financial health of rural providers worsens, state lawmakers are stepping in.
"We have legislators on both sides of the aisle saying, 'Look, we're going to do something about this. We hear you loud and clear,'" says Senator Kyle Mullica, an emergency room nurse from Adams County.
He's sponsoring a bill to provide at least $60 million over the next three years for primary care and behavioral health providers that are considered "safety net providers" because they serve a large number of uninsured and underinsured.
The money will come from interest on the state's Unclaimed Property Trust Fund.
Mullica says he's also secured close to $40 million from philanthropists and is hoping for some matching federal dollars, bringing the total to over $100 million.
Mullica's co-sponsor is Senator Barb Kirkmeyer, who's a Republican. The bill passed its first two committees unanimously.
"We're hearing from those providers saying this is what we need. We don't need it in a year, we don't need this in two years, we need this now. Not doing something is not an option," said Mullica.
Rio Grande Hospital clinics are among those in danger of closing. Like many rural hospitals, it is one of the top employers in its community, so the local economy also depends on its survival.
Under the bill, an enterprise will disperse the money based on how many low-income patients a provider serves.
Harms says the funding is a lifeline for those who serve the state's most vulnerable lives, "This bill gives me hope for all of us in the rural health care market."
Rio Grande Hospital was just named one of the top critical care hospitals in the country.
