Coleman Liaison Discusses the Future of Rural Medicine

 People in rural communities are no less deserving of access to quality health care, than residents of metropolitan areas. This philosophy was common ground as Bridges CEO Dan Rohrbach and Medical Director Dr. Jeff Peterson met with US Senator Norm Coleman’s Regional Affairs and Policy Liaison, Carl Kuhl, last week in Ada.

Senator Coleman has championed a number of causes benefiting rural health care including the Critical Access designation for facilities such as Bridges.

“In the past, Medicare paid a set fee for any service provided,” explained Rohrbach. “This favored the big medical centers in large cities where patients are seen in high volumes. The Critical Access Designation assures that facilities in rural communities receive reimbursement for the actual cost of treatment plus 1%. That doesn’t sound like much of a margin, but it makes a big difference when you are dealing with individual patients rather than a daily census of dozens or hundreds.”

Coleman has long been supporter of Critical Access facilities, most recently being involved in the creation of a community hospital in Walker, MN. 

Grant writing resources were another area of concern. While medical centers in the cities may have a full time grant writer, or even a grant writing department on staff, the facilities in less populated regions must rely on existing staff members to compile data and write grant applications, a time consuming and complex process. Educational opportunities for people not trained as professional grant writers and improved access to some of the resources available would help local care facilities compete against the metropolitan centers which currently receive the lion’s share of available monies.

“We are as committed as anyone to providing cutting edge medical programs and technology,” said Rohrbach.  “Funding sources are limited so there must be a level playing field so that a fair amount of resources goes to rural parts of the state.”

Also discussed was the recent implementation of Medicare Part D and public education on the new program.

Kuhl pledged continued support for rural health care, on behalf of Senator Coleman and told Rohrbach and Dr. Peterson that the senator planned a personal trip to the area in the not too distant future.

“We appreciate his support and look forward to seeing him,” said Rohrbach.