Ruling gives MedCentral higher reimbursement rate
Mansfield News Journal – According to a press release from Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office, MedCentral Mansfield Hospital will now qualify for Medicare reimbursements on par with those received by Columbus-area hospitals. The change could mean as much as $6 million a year in reimbursement to the facility.
“Because of its unique placement in Richland County, MedCentral received lower Medicare reimbursement rates than hospitals in the Columbus area received, even though it competed with those same hospitals for patients and employees,” Brown said.
“CMS has corrected a long-standing inequity with this ruling, and now MedCentral will receive a fair rate that will help it attract and retain doctors, nurses and other hospital employees. MedCentral will now be able to provide better care to all its patients, including those that receive Medicare.”
To qualify for a geographic wage index reclassification, a hospital in an urban area must meet three criteria, including wages that are 108 percent of other hospitals in the area. MedCentral Health System meets two of the three requirements but, because it is the only hospital in the Mansfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, it could not meet the 108 percent test.
MedCentral sought reclassification to the Columbus area wage index.
