At the Sept. 25 Greenwood County Hospital (GWCH) Board of Trustees meeting, CEO Sandra Dickerson informed the board of the cancellation of three Medicare Managed Care contracts, Humana, Aetna, and WellCare, by Allwell. Dickerson explained that reimbursement rates for these Medicare Advantage programs are insufficient to cover the hospital’s cost. GWCH, she said, cannot afford to provide care at less than cost, and so, the decision has been made to end the contracts. Dickerson said that about 350 patients are affected by the change and that those patients have been notified of the situation and a press release has been submitted ( The Eureka Herald, Oct. 1 issue).
Patients affected by the change have the option of staying with their current coverage; however, GWCH will become “out of network,” and care will be subject to pricing differences. They also have the opportunity to switch to one of the advantage programs the hospital continues to accept, or they can switch to an original Medicare plan. Dickerson emphasized that patients do have time to make the switch, as the change will not take effect until Jan 1, 2026. Open enrollment for these plans begins Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7, 2025. She also clarified that, in the case of emergency care, all Medicare Advantage plans (Medicare Part C) are required to provide coverage at least equal to Original Medicare. GWCH is not alone in this move to discontinue certain Medicare Advantage programs. Many hospitals throughout the region are also making this change. “I applaud you,” said James Blackwell, Regional Vice President of Great Plains Health Alliance, “because this is the only leverage we have to try to change what these people (advantage plans) are doing,” saying that the plans resist access to healthcare. Persons needing guidance with Medicare and Advantage Plans can reach out to licensed Medicare advisors or brokers or visit Medicare.gov. Dickerson said GWCH will continue to accept two Medicare Advantage programs, which are UnitedHealthcare and BlueCross and BlueShield of Kansas.
Physician Recruitment Dickerson said that she had been speaking with the physician recruiting firm CI Health Group and would like to engage them in recruiting to bring on a new provider at the clinic. Dickerson said specifically she would like to hire a woman physician because Eureka loses potential patients to other communities because they prefer a female physician. Dickerson explained that a procurement fee of $13,500 is required to start the recruitment process. Candidates would be selected according to a list of criteria defined by GWCH. A $24,000 placement fee is due when a contract is signed with the new provider. Dickerson noted that the agreement has safeguards in place to re-recruit if the provider chosen does not fulfill the contract. Dickerson said she feels the position would be ideal for an established physician with a family who is looking to step out of the busy day-to-day of long hours, being on-call, and doing rounds and would appreciate the unhurried atmosphere GWCH can offer. The board gave Dickerson their approval to move forward with the recruitment firm.
CEO Report
In her CEO report, Sandra Dickerson said that the radiology staff has chosen a “top of the line” sonography machine after gaining approval at the Aug. 28 board meeting. Included with the unit, said Dickerson, is a hand-held sonography unit that can be used in the ER for quick diagnostics.
The expected cost of the sonography equipment had been $65,000. But an adjustment was needed to extend the length of the service contract to ensure continuous coverage, bringing the total cost to $80,000. Dickerson explained that, instead of an outright buy, a lease agreement will be used to purchase the sonography equipment with 50% down ($40,000) and monthly payments with 0% interest for three years. Dickerson asked the board for authorization to increase the cost, which the board approved unanimously.
Dickerson spoke about the Rural Health Transformation Fund (RHT) and the $50 billion that was put into the One Big Beautiful Bill for Kansas Rural Hospitals. Kansas has been tasked with delivering a plan on how it will divide the money to hospitals within the state by early November. The state must adhere to strict guidelines to allot the funds, for example, through infrastructure upgrades in an effort to sustain access to care. Dickerson also said that she had been invited to participate in a small virtual discussion on Friday, Sept. 26, with Senator Roger Marshall along with other KHA (Kansas Hospital Association) board members who are CEOs from other critical access hospitals. As a participant, she will be sharing her thoughts on the five pillars of the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) with the goal of helping the Senator to gather insight from Critical Access Hospital (CAH) leaders so that he can help advocate for Kansas providers in the allocation process. Those five pillars are 1) Make Rural America Healthy Again, 2) Sustainable Access, 3) Workforce Development, 4) Innovative Care, and 5) Tech Innovation.
Financials
Dickerson presented the August financial report on behalf of CFO Melody York. The report showed that overall total assets had increased by 3.2% from the prior year. Total cash had decreased slightly; the most significant movement was in board cash, which was used to pay some claims, said Dickerson. August gross revenue fell short of budget; however, the yearto- date revenue is up compared to last fiscal year, driven by strong growth in outpatient and 340b revenue. 340b revenue continues to outperform and contribute significantly to the results, said Dickerson. The program allows GWCH to purchase outpatient drugs at discounted prices, enabling them to stretch limited resources and serve more patients. The board noted a clerical error within the financial data so the report will be reviewed before approval. A revised financial report is to be presented at the next board of trustees meeting.
GWCH is in the process of holding annual community conversations surrounding Medicare Advantage plans. This year includes a conversation on scams that target senior citizens and how they can protect themselves and their information. The event will be held in Howard at the Cox Building on Oct. 6 and in Madison at the Sauder Building on Oct. 13 and has already been held in Eureka and Yates Center.
Medical staff met on Tuesday, Sept 16. for a short meeting. The staff watched an update on celiac disease and treatment. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder where the body’s immune system reacts abnormally to gluten. Two appointments were presented and approved by the board: Luis Torres-Romero, MD pathology, and Jason Hoke, DO - family medicine.
Public comment was heard from Kevin Hough, who shared that he had recently experienced a medical incident and wanted to offer his sincere appreciation to the staff of the ER department at GWCH. “They did a wonderful job,” said Hough. “Any time somebody says how important Greenwood County Hospital is, think of the number of lives that have been saved over the years.”
Dickerson told the board that installation of the new mammography machine is set to begin in December.
The consent agenda was approved as presented, including the minutes of the Aug. 28 regular meeting, the August treasurer’s report, and August disbursements: payroll benefits, $1,146,112.13, and accounts payable, $529,893.32.
The next GWCH Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 5:30 p.m.
