By Stephanie Johns
Staff Writer

Morgan Memorial Hospital prepares to deal with changes to pharmacy rules and a hospital tax. 
CEO Ralph Castillo shared details about the changes impacting the hospital during the Morgan County Hospital Authority’s November meeting.
The first pertains to the pharmacy’s Remote Order Entry (ROE) 16-hour rule. The rule will require them either to stop doing ROE or to pay a pharmacist to come in on Saturdays and Sundays. He said paying a pharmacist may cost them an additional $75,000 to $100,000 per year.
The second pertains to a hospital assessment or tax. He said they currently pay 1.45 percent of net patient revenue to the state. The state in turn pulls down federal money, which goes to the hospitals as reimbursement for its Medicare population.
The government has proposed another version of this law, which expires June 30, 2013. Large private hospitals with small Medicare populations do not want this law in any version, he said.
He encouraged those present to lobby their representatives to enact a permanent solution.

Printed in the December 6, 2012 edition