Hospitals named for Medicare Frontier Community Health Integration Project Demonstration

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has named the hospitals that will participate in their Frontier Community Health Integration Project Demonstration, also known as FCHIP, an initiative meant to increase access to healthcare in rural areas.

Ten hospitals in three states were chosen for the three-year program, which begins this month. It will test new models of integrated, coordinated care in rural areas where some services may not be available due to lack of financial resources. CMS said the goal is to improve care quality, patient satisfaction in rural areas, better spending of healthcare dollars. It will also give financial incentives for care coordination activities that reduce unnecessary admissions and readmissions.

CMS said they will test new activities in three areas to include skilled nursing care, telehealth and ambulance services.

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"Medicare beneficiaries who live in frontier areas of the country sometimes travel hundreds of miles to see a doctor. This increases the cost of care and can discourage beneficiaries from seeking treatment," said Patrick Conway, M.D., principal deputy administrator and chief medical officer at CMS. "The effort that is beginning today will look at ways to shrink the distance between the Medicare beneficiary and the care they need."

The hospitals chosen are: Dahl Memorial Healthcare Association in Ekalaka, MT; McCone County Health Center in Circle, MT; Roosevelt Medical Center in Culbertson, MT; Battle Mountain General Hospital in Battle Mountain, NV; Grover C. Dils Medical Center in Caliente, NV; Mt. Grant General Hospital in Hawthorne, NV; Pershing General Hospital in Lovelock, NV; Jacobson Memorial Hospital Care Center in Elgin, ND; McKenzie County Healthcare Systems in Watford City, ND; Southwest Healthcare Services in Bowman, ND.

Twitter: @BethJSanborn