Becker's Hospital Review

26 CFO / FINANCE Dignity Health Hospital to Cover All of Las Vegas Shooting Victims' Medical Bills By Alyssa Rege W hile some Las Vegas hospitals said they plan to use the influx of dona- tions they have received to help pay for some of the medical costs incurred by vic- tims of the Oct. 1 shooting, one area hospital claimed it would foot the entire bill for all in- jured victims, according to the Las Vegas Sun. A spokesperson for Las Vegas-based Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican told the Las Vegas Sun Oct. 12 the hospital will not require any payment from any of the victims. "At Dignity Health-St. Rose, our focus re- mains on the immediate medical and support- ive care needs of the injured as well as their long-term healing process," the spokesperson said. "St. Rose does not intend to bill or re- quire payment from any patient victims of this tragic event. St. Rose will bill third-party payers ... and will be accepting contributions from donors in the community to address the financial and other burdens placed on these patient victims." San Francisco-based Dignity Health's three hospitals in Nevada treated roughly 60 patients during the two days following the shooting. However, that number climbed to 79 roughly eight days aer the attack, a spokesperson for the health system told Newsweek Oct. 9. "People may have put off their hospital visits because of shock or adrenaline, or because they didn't want to take up space right aer the shooting," the spokesperson told News- week. "Now those people are coming in, whether it's for surgery or needing something looked at." Approximately 611 victims were treated at four different hospitals or hospital groups for injuries sustained during the mass shooting, according to statistics obtained by Newsweek. Experts suggest the mass casualty incident may cost at least $600 million in lost quali- ty of life, medical bills and follow-up care for victims. A spokesperson from Las Vegas-based e Valley Health System told Becker's Hospital Review Nevada has a program in place to help victims affected by a violent crime. e spokesperson said if a patient completes all the necessary paperwork, which includes an application and filing a police report, the pro- gram will pay the patient's medical costs. "All patients from this tragedy would be el- igible for this program," the spokesperson told Becker's. n Proposed Changes to CJR Model Will Cost Medicare $90M Over Next 3 Years By Ayla Ellison C MS released a proposed rule in August to scale back the Compre- hensive Care for Joint Replacement model, a move that is estimated to cost Medicare $90 million over the next three years. In November 2015, CMS finalized the CJR model, which holds acute care hospitals accountable for the quality of care they deliver to Medicare ben- eficiaries for hip and knee replacement from surgery through 90 days af- ter discharge. The five-year program is mandatory for about 800 hospitals across 67 markets, beginning with discharges occurring April 1, 2016, and ending with episodes completed by Dec. 31, 2020. Over the remaining three years of the program, the CJR model is estimated to save the Medi- care program $294 million. CMS proposed in August to trim back the CJR model. Under the proposed rule, the program would be mandatory for hospitals in 34 of the 67 geo- graphic areas chosen for the program. The CJR model would continue on a voluntary basis in the other 33 geographic areas. The proposed rule would also make participating in the CJR model voluntary for all low vol- ume and rural hospitals in the 67 areas. CMS estimates those changes, if finalized, would reduce projected savings from the CJR model by $90 million over the remaining three-year perfor- mance period. Therefore, the CJR model would save the Medicare pro- gram $204 million instead of $294 million. CMS will accept comments on the proposed rule until Oct. 16. n LifePoint Divests Georgia Hospital to Piedmont Healthcare By Ayla Ellison B rentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Health has sold 138-bed Rockdale Medical Center in Conyers, Ga., to Atlanta-based Piedmont Healthcare. With the transaction completed, Rockdale Medical Center is now Piedmont Rockdale Hospital. "Sixty-three years ago, our hospital was found- ed to meet the need for advanced medical services in Rockdale County," said Rick Si- mons, chairman of the board of directors for Piedmont Rockdale Hospital, at a ribbon cut- ting ceremony Oct. 2. "In joining Piedmont, we continue our commitment to the commu- nity of delivering excellent healthcare close to home." LifePoint, which has more than 70 hospitals across 22 states, now operates only one hos- pital in Georgia. n

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