Hospital on schedule in Rock Springs

Construction at Aspen Mountain Medical Center in Rock Springs is on schedule for company to start accepting patients April 1, according to CEO Steven Perry.

Perry spoke to the Sweetwater County Commissioners Tuesday and helped correct a few misconceptions about the hospital.

Prior to Perry's discussion with the commissioners, Green River resident Mike Lynch asked the commissioners a couple of questions about the medical center, including if Medicare patients would be accepted.

The chief item Perry addressed was if the medical center would accept Medicare and Medicaid patients.

"Senior citizens worked all their lives and paid taxes ... they're having a hard time finding medical care," Lynch told the commissioners.

Perry said they hope to become Medicare certified, though changes to the Affordable Healthcare Act would need to be made before they would be able to see Medicare and Medicaid patients. Privately-owned hospitals operating or under construction at the time the ACA was passed are able to accept Medicare and Medicaid patients, but Perry said Aspen Mountain Medical Center was started after after the law was passed, which doesn't allow them the ability to charge Medicare and Medicaid for services. He said lobbyists are attempting to have that portion of the law changed to allow newer privately-owned facilities to accept Medicare and Medicaid and when it is changed, plans to have the medical center ready to have a Medicare surveyor come in to start the certification process.

In order to have a Medicare surveyor come into the hospital, they would need to provide treatment to 30 people, which Perry said 90 percent of which would essentially be charity care. The charity care, he said, would be the amount a patient is unable to pay on the total bill. Perry said while the hospital is privately owned, they won't turn people away because they don't have insurance.

Perry also said they don't intend to hurt Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County through their operations, but want to appeal to patients already leaving the area for health care.

"I don't see us affecting the hospital that much at all," Perry said.