A recent list has been circulating which includes Russell County Hospital, along with more than 30 other hospitals in Kentucky, that would allegedly be at risk of closing due to proposed Medicaid cuts from a bill in Congress.
WJRS News spoke to Russell County Hospital CEO Scott Thompson, who refuted that report. Thompson said the proposed cuts to Medicaid would cause a loss of revenue for the local healthcare facility, but he doesn’t believe it would bring the hospital to the point of closing its doors.
The funding loss, according to Thompson, would mostly be felt in what is called the Hospital Rate Improvement Program, or HRIP. HRIP makes it possible for hospitals to draw down more federal funds so that Medicaid reimbursements will be closer to the average commercial rate rather than the Medicare rate of reimbursement.
The proposed cuts are in what is known as The Big Beautiful Bill in Congress. If passed as currently written, the funding loss would not be insignificant for the hospital, amounting to a few million dollars over the course of 10 years.
However, Thompson said hospital leadership believes the hospital is in a solid financial position.
The bill is currently awaiting a vote in the United States Senate.
