MILLINOCKET – Today, Millinocket Regional Hospital is joining the ranks of seven other small hospitals across the state that have changed their operating status to improve financial viability.

MRH has changed its operating status from an acute care facility to a critical access hospital, which will make the small hospital eligible for higher Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

“This change will help to secure the hospital’s financial status, allowing us to continue to provide and potentially expand services to the patients of the Katahdin region,” said Marie Vienneau, the hospital’s CEO. “This is a cost reimbursement model which means Medicare will pay their fair share of our costs to provide care to their patients.”

MRH’s top official said the change could translate into about $900,000 more a year in Medicare reimbursements alone. She said the change would not resolve all of the hospital’s problems, but was a giant step in the right direction.

Maine hospitals are among the lowest paid in the nation for Medicare reimbursements, ranking 46th according to the latest information available to officials at the Maine Hospital Association.

Vienneau said patients would see no change.

“The change should be a seamless transition for patients,” said Vienneau. “When you walk into our hospital on Friday, you are not going to see anything any different than you did on Thursday. Services are going to be provided in the same manner by the same staff.”

On average, Maine hospitals are reimbursed about 88 cents for every dollar they spend to treat Medicare patients and about 80 cents for every dollar they spend to treat Medicaid patients, according to Mark Ishkanian, vice president of public affairs at the state association.

Small rural hospitals such as MRH, which serve a large number of Medicare and Medicaid patients, are the hardest hit. Vienneau said between 40 percent and 45 percent of the hospital’s patients were Medicare and between 8 percent and 10 percent were Medicaid.

One of the criteria for becoming a critical access hospital is that the patient length of stay be no longer than four days on average. Vienneau said the average length of stay at the hospital last year was 3.8 days. The average length of stay now is about 3.0, she said.