El Paso Times Staff

Medicaid reimbursement continues to be a problem in El Paso, a problem that must be fixed before it cascades into more trouble than we can handle.

One of the institutions that stands to lose a lot of money is Thomason Hospital. While Thomason is doing remarkably well in so many areas, there is worry about endangered Medicaid reimbursements and how much the hospital -- and hospitals across the nation -- could lose.

Medicaid is a federal-state program that finances health care for eligible low-income people, so the matter is of obvious importance to Thomason.

Jim Valenti, CEO at Thomason, will be heading to Washington, D.C. soon to talk with legislators and officials about the funding for Medicaid and the need to keep it in place. He's heading to the nation's capital for the first of several visits to attempt to sway legislators to leave the funding in place.

He also has asked County Judge Anthony Cobos to sign a letter underlining the need for the funds and their retention.

"The hospital district is financially in good shape to weather some of these storm clouds in regard to federal and state funding earmarked for safety net hospitals such as Thomason," Valenti said.

"We are optimistic we will be able to secure the funding, but it's going to take a community effort."

Medicaid reimbursement has to be a priority for local, state and federal legislators. This area, and Thomason Hospital in particular, cannot afford to lose millions of dollars. Valenti delivered his warnings about Medicaid reimbursement on Monday when he made his quarterly report to the County Commissioners Court.

Aside from worries about Medicaid, the news is pretty good. One mark of progress is the 32 months of earnings at the hospital. Anyone who's lived in El Paso for a while knows that red ink used to be the color of the day at Thomason. That has shown a welcome reversal.

Valenti also told commissioners about plans for upgrades and expansions in programs. And, of course, there are the children's hospital and Thomason expansion; Valenti said ground would be broken for those projects before the end of the year.

All in all, it was an optimistic report, but those concerns about Medicaid reimbursement linger. Again, it's going to take a united and energetic effort from officials to make sure the feds and state don't damage Medicaid beyond repair.