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16 THE LIST ISSUE 12 Hospital Closures So Far in 2016 By Ayla Ellison H ospitals across the nation face a myriad of financial challenges, including underpayments from Medicare and Medicaid and new reimbursement cuts. ese financial challenges, combined with other issues such as de- clining patient volumes, have caused more than 60 rural hospitals to close over the past five years. Below are 12 hospitals closures reported so far this year, up through June 22. 1. North Georgia Medical Center in Ellijay closed June 6. A near- by hospital owned by Atlanta-based Piedmont Healthcare plans to reopen the facility's emergency department. 2. Saddleback Memorial – San Clemente (Calif.) hospital closed May 30. e primary reason for the closure was dwindling patient volumes. On many days, there were less than 10 inpatients at the 73-bed hospital. 3. Dallas-based Forest Park Medical Center's campus in Fort Worth, Texas, closed May 24. Arlington-based Texas Health Re- sources purchased the hospital and plans to reopen it. 4. McNairy Regional Hospital in Selmer, Tenn., part of Knoxville, Tenn.-based Tennova Healthcare, closed May 18. e hospital's admis- sions had dropped nearly 70 percent between 2010 and 2015, and ER visits had also plummeted. 5. Colusa (Calif.) Regional Medical Center closed April 22. Hos- pital officials said they expected the 48-bed hospital's closure to affect about 200 workers. 6. St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia closed March 11. North Philadelphia Health System closed the 146-bed hospital as it consolidated operations. 7. SoutheastHEALTH in Cape Girardeau, Mo., closed Southeast Health Center of Reynolds County and its related clinics March 11. Before it closed, fewer than two beds on average were filled at the hospital each day. 8. Williamsburg Regional Hospital in Kingstree, S.C., shut down in February aer severe flooding last October rendered the ma- jority of the hospital unusable. A temporary replacement hospital will open in October. 9. Sayre (Okla.) Memorial Hospital abruptly closed Feb. 1. Offi- cials said the closure was due to a number of factors, including Oklahoma's decision not to expand Medicaid. 10. Cleveland Clinic's 108-year-old Lakewood (Ohio) Hospi- tal closed Feb. 5. e system has plans to replace the facility with a family healthcare clinic. 11. St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare closed 126-bed Parkland Health Center – Weber Road in Farmington, Mo., Jan. 19. Most clinical services were relocated to another Parkland Health hospi- tal in Farmington. 12. St. Mary's Hospital in Streator, Ill., closed Jan. 4. e facility is now an urgent care center owned and operated by Peoria, Ill.- based OSF Healthcare System. n Top 10 Costliest Specialty Drugs for Insurers By Morgan Haefner A recent study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill revealed specialty drug costs for payers have tripled since 2003, when they represented 11 percent of payer drug spending. Here are the top 10 costliest specialty drugs as of 2014: Name, use, average 30-day supply cost 1. Sovaldi, pill to treat hepatitis C, $28,083* 2. Stelara, injection to treat psoriasis, $11,131 3. Gleevec, pill to treat leukemia and other cancers, $10,893 4. Gilenya, pill to treat multiple sclerosis, $6,743 5. Copaxone, injection to treat multiple sclerosis, $6,623 6. Tecfidera, pill to treat multiple sclerosis, $6,407 7. Humira, injection to treat rheumatoid arthritis, $3,890 8. Enbrel, injection to treat rheumatoid arthritis, $3,674 9. Atripla, pill to treat HIV, $2,853 10. Abilify, pill to treat psychiatric disorders, $1,011 Researchers used the Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Database to analyze prescriptions purchased by commercial- ly insured patients, and defined specialty drugs using CMS' threshold, which designates a product costing $600 or more for a 30-day supply as a specialty drug. *Sovaldi is usually taken only for 12 weeks with at least one oth- er medicine. Other listed drugs are typically taken for years until they become ineffective or the patient switches treatment. n BECKER'S CEO + CFO ROUNDTABLE november 7-9, 2016 swissotel, chicago Call 1.800.417.2035 or email registration@beckershealthcare.com KEYNOTES BY DR. RONALD DEPHINHO, DR. CHARLES W. SORENSON, DR. RICHARD GILFILLAN, CATHERINE JACOBSON, WARNER THOMAS & JONATHAN BUSH