Dozens of the state’s rural hospitals are protesting what they see as potentially crippling changes in the way Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota pays them for medical services. Hospital administrators say the new calculation could reduce their payments by hundreds of thousands of dollars, potentially forcing layoffs or tax increases to make up the difference in areas where residents often have to travel great distances to get medical care…Many of the state’s rural hospitals are owned by a city or county and often are the largest provider of jobs. Those that are independent face increasing financial pressure to merge with larger systems, such as the Mayo Clinic, Sanford Health, Essentia and CentraCare.

Star Tribune by Jackie Crosby

Tags: Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Facilities, financial pressure, Finanical, layoffs, medical services, Star Tribune