(Spirit Lake)– The board of trustees of Dickinson County Memorial Hospital voted unanimously Monday to support federal legislation addressing inequities in Medicare reimbursement.
Under the current system, hospitals in Iowa are reimbursed at a much lower rate than those in other states.
Legislation being supported by DCMH trustees and the American Hospital Association includes measures to help hospitals deal with rising labor costs and establish a minimum wage index to help improve workforce compensation. It calls for the creation of the American Hospital Preservation Act to restore a full inflation update for Medicare inpatient services and maintain current funding for medical education at teaching hospitals; investment in nursing and other health profession education programs; establishing a national nursing service corps; a safety net for hospitals with heavy loads of poor patients; and regulatory relief.
