Cooperative networks become a popular law for rural hospitals

Bowman, ND – Independent rural hospitals are increasingly forming cooperative groups to exchange resources and combine bargaining strength with the goal of saving money and improving patient care.

The networks, which have appeared in several states in recent years, provide hospitals in a small alternative town for sale to large hospital systems and the confiscation of local independence.

“We have found that we can both have a negotiating power as a larger entity, but we are also able to negotiate lower costs of services and equipment,” said Dennis Jubel, CEO of South West Health Care, Buman Hospital, which is part of Ridra Raw Network 22 in North Dakota.

Since 2010, 153 rural hospitals in the United States have completely closed the services of internal patients or cut the services of internal patients, according to Sheps Health Services Research Center At North Carolina University. And 441 joined hospital chains between 2011 and 2021, According to a report Encouraged the coalition to enhance American health care, a group of support consisting of hospitals and health associations.

Network supporters hope that more will cooperate Rural health conversion programWhich has become a law as part of the tax scale and the overwhelming poverty supported by the Trump administration.

Many hospitals that join networks are driven by the opportunity to combine patient rolls Value -based care contractsThe payment form in which insurance companies pay service providers based on the quality of the care they provide and the health results of their patients.

Hospitals can also collect employees for health insurance plans, Specialists’ participationAnd it receives better prices on service contracts ranging from the prescribed drug programs to mobile photography.

Retta Jacobi recently benefited from the last service when half of it was stopped with MRI inside Bowman Hospital outside the Bowman Hospital in southwest of Dakota, a populated population area spread with Ranch Land and Bodland rock formations. She expressed her hope to determine the examination, which causes pain in her shoulders.

The MRI portraits visit a hospital or two hospitals in the RIIGR RIIDER network every day. Without this, Bowman’s residents will have 40 minutes to perform similar tests.

The researchers have not yet examined whether the networks were operating, according to a paper from Rand Corp. It is a non -profit organization for research.

However, the leaders of the network members say that their programs provide money and improve patient results by increasing preventive care rates and reducing hospital admission cases.

Jacobi, who provides treatment for children in the local school area, performs physical therapy after the doctor examined the results of MRI. It is grateful because it can get diagnostic advice and treatment without having to travel away to wipe.

“At any time we can maintain more local control, this is a good thing for our small cities,” said Jacobi.