MASSENA — Massena Memorial Hospital could lose almost $14 million in reimbursements over the next decade if the proposed American Health Care Act (AHCA) legislation passes in Congress in its current form.

The impact of AHCA on healthcare coverage and patient care reimbursement could be devastating to Massena Memorial Hospital and other hospitals in St. Lawrence County.

Hospital officials say the healthcare industry is facing many changes and factors beyond a community hospital’s control which can impact the bottom line with no advanced warning or notice.

Massena Memorial Hospital is a Sole Community Provider. The proposed AHCA eliminates both this designation and the Medicare Low Volume Adjustment, which the hospital has qualified for.

“The proposed AHCA legislation reduces MMH’s revenue annually by $726,700. If this continues, according to the Healthcare Association of New York State, HANYS, analysis, MMH faces nearly a $14 million reduction in reimbursement over the next ten years,” said Bob Wolleben, MMH Chief Executive Officer.

The AHCA also includes reductions in New York State Medicaid Payments totaling $4.7 billion—$2.4 billion in federal funding for Medicaid expansion and $2.3 billion in Medicaid funding traditionally covered by county governments.

This cost shift would require New York State to make tough choices in Medicaid that could lead to deep reimbursement cuts to hospitals and health systems for care provided to Medicaid patients, principally children, elderly, and disabled individuals. “MMH is facing proposed cuts that could amount to as much as $9 million over the next ten years,” Wolleben said.

“We continue to work on financial permanence, as we have said throughout, the healthcare industry is in flux and things beyond our control can impact our bottom line with no advance warning or notice. This is more evident today because of the issues being discussed at both the state and federal levels regarding healthcare,” Wolleben said. “Despite the challenges that pop up every day, we are making real progress on this front as evidenced by the growing number of patients we serve which is up 8% this year.”

“We continue to focus as a team on the future to ensure MMH is a place where patients want to come, physicians want to practice, our employees want to work and of course our community chooses for their medical and healthcare,” Wolleben added.