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MONROE, La. (AP) — St. Francis Medical Center officials say the hospital may close its neonatal intensive care unit and other critical care services unless Louisiana adjusts its Medicaid reimbursement rate to match other regional medical facilities.
Interim CEO Scott Wester tells The News-Star (http://tnsne.ws/1ydhmY1 ) they'll probably decide within 30 days.
St. Francis said last month that it won't consolidate its downtown and northern Monroe campuses. But Wester said then the hospital cannot sustain another $27 million deficit like last year's and would consider closing its most expensive critical care units.
The state's health secretary, Kathy Kliebert, says Wester never mentioned the possibility of closing the NICU.
She also says there's another hospital three miles away at University Health Conway.
Wester says Conway is among hospitals getting much higher daily Medicaid payments.
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Information from: The News-Star, http://www.thenewsstar.com
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