MHA CEO Brian Peters was quoted in a Crain’s Grand Rapids article pushing back against the release of a Lown Institute report about Michigan nonprofit hospital community benefit spending.
The report intentionally omits IRS Form 990 categories, including Medicaid payment shortfall and health professional education, which significantly reduces a hospital’s community benefit contributions. Peter’s statement provided to Crain’s criticized the Lown Institute methodology, while highlighting the impact that providing care to those with Medicaid coverage has on a community. Peters also uplifted the importance of health professional education in increasing the numbers of providers while the country continues to experience a shortage of healthcare professionals, particularly in rural Michigan.
“The latest version of the Lown Institute’s report on community benefit activities of nonprofit hospitals remains flawed, shortsighted and fails to highlight all the important programs and services hospitals and health systems provide to their communities and patients,” said Peters. “It is irresponsible to intentionally ignore these categories that make a significant difference in Michigan’s communities and the viability of hospitals.”
MHA Executive Vice President Laura Appel also joined state officials and leaders at Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital April 18 to discuss the negative impacts of potential cuts to Medicaid funding on patient care and the financial health of rural hospitals and their local communities. Speakers included Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel, Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) Director Susan Corbin and Munson Healthcare President and CEO Ed Ness. LEO published a press release, while media outlets including Cadillac News, UpNorthLive and WWMT News 3 published stories that day on the subject.
Members with any questions regarding media requests should contact John Karasinski at the MHA.