FROM THE NEWSROOM: With a $5.3 million loss reported for the 2014 fiscal year, Day Kimball Healthcare President and CEO Bob Smanik tells WINY that although the Putnam-based hospital and healthcare services remains “financially secure” for the foreseeable future, all indications seem to point toward Day Kimball and other small and community hospitals eventually being absorbed by larger organizations. Smanik says DKH still is in a position to cover its expenses and remain a steady force in the community throughout the near future, but hospital officials are continuing dialogue about whether Day Kimball will continue to exist independently in the long run, or whether acquisition under a larger chain may be ultimately unavoidable. According to Smanik, recent financial losses can be tied to the nation-wide effects of the federally-implemented Affordable Care Act, specifically citing the increased prevalence of high-deductible health plans that he says have curtailed individuals use of healthcare and shifts the burdens of hospitals toward collecting from patients instead of insurance companies. Smanik also says, at the national level, there were trade-offs between expected reductions in payments to hospitals with the understanding more money would flow to medical facilities through increased coverage, but because Connecticut has always had a relatively wide coverage for individuals with medicaid, the state didnt see a significant increase in coverage under the act. Combined with other factors including the federal sequestration and medicare cuts, Smanik says this is why it became necessary earlier this month to implement another $1.2 million in expense reductions, as discussed in earlier reports. Smanik also says Day Kimball recently found it must be more conservative in its estimates for future revenue adjustments, anticipating potential audit findings that could require the hospital to payback funding it has received – that affected the hospitals most recent reported loss, the second annual loss in a row for Day Kimball. Tune in for the full report.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 11:59:44 +0000
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