Hospital reimbursement over $620,000

Among the action items approved by the Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees a their meeting Tuesday evening was the annual cost report.

Chief Financial Officer Shelly Larson explained the report is very much like a tax return. It's required to be filed by Medicare, and is their way of settling up with the hospital, which is cost reimbursed.

Larson further explained all of the information, including revenue, expenditures and hospital statistics are included in the report.

Currently, it looks like the hospital will receive a total reimbursement of more than $620,000. That amount is composed of two different amounts, for inpatient and outpatient.

Larson explained on the inpatient side when there is a significant decrease in patient days, the hospital receives a higher reimbursement.

For the outpatient side, Larson said the hospital's expenses are divided by the revenue to come up with the ration of cost to charge.

Larson also reported the inpatient "per diems" for Medicare patients will increase from $3,696 per day to $3,912 per day. Swing bed will increase from $2,419 per day to $2,702 and the outpatient ratio will go from 53 percent to 60 percent. The rural health clinic rate, which is Big Horn Basin Clinic, will increase from $204 per encounter to $208. These figures are for Medicare patients.

Larson said volume is the hospital's friend, and if they drive volumes up they will drive costs down.

The cost report is required by HealthTech, Larson noted, and is also necessary for the audit to complete.

In other action, the board approved renewing a line of credit with Central Bank and Trust in the amount of $1.2 million. The hospital's security with the line is the current year accounts receivable and revenue. The line expires June 30, 2018.