Hundreds of patients at Stanislaus Surgical Hospital in Modesto could soon lose access to care. The hospital must be removed from the Medicare program by April 30 after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services determined it did not meet nine requirements. Patrick Haley, a hospital spokesman, said that means they won’t be able to provide care to Medicaid and Medi-Cal beneficiaries. In a routine inspection conducted by the California Department of Public Health on behalf of CMS, inspectors found health and safety issues. “One was over the neck to the endoscopy suite, which had been here for at least 20 years and through other inspections, but it wasn’t up to standard,” Haley said. Haley said the problems have now been fixed. KCRA 3 reached out to CMS to ask what problems were found, but had not heard back by Thursday evening. The hospital said 60 percent to 80 percent of its patients fall into the Medicare program. “It’s going to throw hundreds and hundreds of patients out into the community to find a place to take care of them,” Haley said. Removing the Medicare program would also affect more than 180 employees who may be laid off. “Morale is pretty bad with the staff, a lot of people have worked well here for over 20 years,” Haley said. The hospital said it is appealing the federal decision to drop it from the Medicare program. “We want to be included in the program. There are many ways to do that. Hopefully they will review the information or give us a chance to respond,” Haley said. The California Department of Public Health said it stands ready to support the hospital as it works through the federal CMS process. In a statement to KCRA 3, CDPH Secretary Dr. Mark Galli said, “I and the CDPH team remain committed to providing access to high-quality services in all parts of California, and we stand ready to support the facility in its continued quest to serve the community. The hospital stopped enrolling Medicare and Medi-Cal patients after April 30.
Hundreds of patients at Stanislaus Surgical Hospital in Modesto could soon lose access to care.
The hospital must be removed from the Medicare program by April 30 after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services determined it did not meet nine requirements.
Patrick Haley, a hospital spokesman, said that means they won’t be able to provide care to Medicaid and Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
In a routine inspection conducted by the California Department of Public Health on behalf of CMS, inspectors found health and safety issues.
“One was over the door to the endoscopy suite, which had been here for at least 20 years and through other inspections but was not up to standard,” Haley said.
Haley said the problems have now been fixed.
KCRA 3 reached out to CMS to ask what problems were found, but did not hear back as of Thursday evening.
The hospital said 60 percent to 80 percent of its patients fall under the Medicare program.
“It’s going to throw hundreds and hundreds of patients out of the community to find a place to take care of them,” Haley said.
The removal from the Medicare program will also affect more than 180 employees who may be laid off.
“Staff morale is pretty bad, a lot of people have worked here for over 20 years,” Haley said.
The hospital said it is appealing the federal decision to drop it from the Medicare program.
“We want to be included in the program. There are many ways to do this. We hope they will review the information or give us a chance to respond,” Haley said.
The California Department of Public Health said it stands ready to support the hospital as it works through the federal CMS process.
In a statement to KCRA 3, CDPH Secretary Dr. Mark Galli said, “I and the CDPH team remain committed to providing access to high-quality services in all parts of California, and we stand ready to support the facility in its continued quest to serve the community.”
The hospital stopped enrolling Medicare and Medi-Cal patients after April 30.
