Springfield Hospitals Host Rep. Chappell For Tours
Rep. Darin Chappell, R-Rogersville, recently toured Mercy Hospital Springfield and CoxHealth in Springfield, Mo., and met with their leaders to discuss improving access to care while controlling costs.
At Mercy, Chappell walked through the emergency department and learned about the difficulty in finding placements for patients needing behavioral health care once their acute care needs are met. At CoxHealth, he visited the hospital virtual care team’s command center, which adds a layer of support for patients in the ICU or med-surg units and is an opportunity for seasoned registered nurses to mentor new nurses on the floor.
At both hospitals, leaders discussed the Federal Reimbursement Allowance, a provider tax that hospitals pay to help fund the state’s share of Medicaid payments to hospitals. This tax is the third largest source of state revenue.
The visits were part of the Missouri Hospital Association’s ongoing work to connect legislators with hospital leaders and help policymakers better understand how legislation affects patient care and hospital operations.
MHA-member hospitals interested in hosting a legislator visit can contact MHA's governmental relations team for help with scheduling, talking points and logistics.
The Missouri Hospital Association is a nonprofit association in Jefferson City that represents 136 Missouri hospitals. In addition to representation and advocacy on behalf of its membership, the association offers continuing education programs on current health care topics and seeks to educate the public about health care issues.
