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Legislators urge keeping "vehicles" alive as Greenwood Hospital faces Medicaid recoupment
Summary
Committee members said the Legislature needs a role in how Rural Health Transformation Fund dollars are spent and flagged Greenwood Hospital's claim that Medicaid recouped $2 million of an alleged $7 million overpayment, a move the hospital warned would force it to miss payroll and risk closure.
The Senate Health Committee heard a detailed account of Greenwood Hospital's financial distress and a broader warning about control of the Rural Health Transformation Fund. The committee chair said members of the Legislature believe they should have input into how the governor and state agencies administer the fund, and that they want to preserve bill "vehicles" so lawmakers can act if a viable rescue plan appears. "There is a feeling among some of us in the legislature that at a minimum, the legislature should have some input into those funds," the chair said.
Committee members described an ongoing dispute between Greenwood Hospital and Medicaid over an alleged $7,000,000 overpayment, and said Medicaid recouped about $2,000,000 from the hospital's December payment. The chair said the hospital warned that the recoupment would prevent it "literally, [from] making payroll at Christmas." The chair and local legislators filed a statement in chancery court and said they were urging legal and legislative options to keep the hospital operating while potential solutions are explored. No specific funding package or appropriation was laid out; lawmakers said they will retain legislative "vehicles" to amend or offer measures if a practicable plan comes forward.
