Hospital CEO: Get Ready For Change
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe chief executive officer of a rural Indiana hospital says employers and employees should brace for changes to the Affordable Care Act, advising Hoosiers to "be nimble and realize that things may change rapidly." But Greene County General Hospital CEO Brenda Reetz doesn’t expect Obamacare to necessarily receive a radical makeover. "I don’t think we’re going to see a grand day when everything changes overnight," said Reetz, during an interview on Inside Indiana Business Television. "I think it will be a gradual transition where we see things swap in and out, depending on how they are working."
Reetz said the medical device tax will attract a lot of attention. She also said there are elements of the ACA that "are truly good," like coverage for pre-existing conditions and the fact that more people now have access to insurance. At the state level, she points to Healthy Indiana 2.0 as a positive reform that is providing access to health coverage for Hoosiers who live at or near the poverty level.
But Reetz added health care reform has also led to a "narrowing of networks" that has squeezed out some rural hospitals and health care providers and made it difficult for patients to access health care close to home.
Despite a challenging business climate for rural health care, Reetz says Greene County General in Linton will be profitable in 2016 and, for the first time in several years, employees will get pay increases.