San Juan Regional details new federal Medicaid funding, $4M women's unit renovation and safety upgrades

San Juan Regional Medical Center leaders briefed the San Juan County commissioners on April 15 about a recent influx of funding tied to the state's Healthcare Delivery and Access Act and described capital projects underway at the hospital.

The presentation, led by CEO Jason Rounds and CFO John Mayer, explained that the Healthcare Delivery and Access Act created a new assessment-and-match funding stream for hospitals that draws federal matching dollars through CMS. "Hospitals as facilities contribute to the fund, up to 6% by CMS maximums and then we receive $3.72 from the federal government through CMS for every dollar that we raised," John Mayer told the commission.

Mayer said the program replaces earlier HAP and TAP programs and that New Mexico began collecting net new monies this fiscal year; the total statewide pool is now about $1.3 billion. He described the distribution split as roughly 60% volume-based (access) and 40% tied to performance on eight quality/access pillars that will be measured going forward. "There's $32 million at risk generally speaking," Mayer said, describing the risk portion hospitals must now earn by meeting performance measures.

Rounds used the update to introduce Rachel Skoog as the hospital's new chief operating officer, noting her prior roles in the region and her executive experience. Commissioners welcomed Skoog and thanked San Juan Regional for ongoing cooperation with county services.

In addition to the funding explanation, Rounds and other hospital leaders described facility work funded through a mix of hospital and other sources. Completed and in-progress work includes negative-pressure room upgrades, medical gas improvements, telehealth equipment, cooling-tower and chiller work, building automation and a recent transfer-switch replacement done while keeping the hospital operating. Rounds said the hospital is investing $4,000,000 in a renovation of the women's inpatient and childbirth unit and anticipates a ribbon-cutting in July. "This unit will be second to none in our community," he said.

Commissioners and county staff asked about partnerships with Indian Health Service and fire-safety planning tied to ongoing projects; Rounds said San Juan Regional treats referred patients from IHS facilities and that the hospital is privately held but community-directed. The hospital also reported that its on-site solar array supplies about 35% of its daily power needs.

Why it matters: Commissioners heard that the new state-federal funding structure will provide sizable, recurring dollars for hospitals but that a substantial portion (about 40%) is now tied to measurable performance, which could affect local hospitals' net revenues. The hospital's capital projects affect local health-care capacity and emergency readiness.

For next steps, Mayer said the hospital will receive additional payments as the state's Health Care Authority finalizes allocations and as CMS processes claims tied to the new program. Commissioners thanked hospital leaders for the briefing and for continuing coordination with county emergency services.