WMC's positive financial performance continues

Highlighting the Winneshiek Medical Center's October meeting of its board of trustees on Wednesday night was a report by Gwen Moser with the CPA firm of Eide Bailly that audits the hospital's financial statements annually. Moser opened her overview of WMC's FY2015 audit saying there were "no issues or concerns."

Eide Bailly serves several critical access hospitals and Moser usually shares what she sees in the health industry as well as her thoughts for the future of health care, said board chair Rick Burras.

The information presented by Moser included benchmarking WMC with other Iowa Critical Access Hospitals for many key financial metrics, said the hospital's chief financial officer, Lynn Luloff.

Moser stated that WMC's improved financial performance in FY2015 positions the hospital favorably in meeting today's and future challenges facing rural hospitals.

"There are many challenges facing critical access hospitals," Luloff said after the meeting. "There have been 57 rural hospital closures since 2010."

"It is important to know our past performance and also what changes to anticipate in the healthcare industry," Luloff said. "This keeps us striving to improve value for patients, continue providing quality service, and maintain or improve financial viability."

Moser's presentation included an update on the impact of health care reform, expansion of insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the U.S. spending trend in healthcare and projections, and ACA hospital reimbursement cuts now and future reductions.