By Jacque Day
Southern Illinois – Metropolis' 25-bed Massac Memorial Hospital is one of 51 Illinois critical access care facilities that could gain from a new state law. The legislation requires critical access hospitals to be reimbursed fully for outpatient Medicaid services. The Illinois Hospital Association reports without the aid, CAHs are reimbursed for only 41 to 73 percent of Medicaid costs. A large percentage of CAH patients are Medicare and Medicaid patients. Governor Pat Quinn says critical access hospitals are often several miles from the nearest major medical facility and serve large areas of the state. The law is set to go into effect January 2011, pending funding for the program.