January 30, 2009

The Maine Legislature has chosen to approve the governor's supplemental budget without the extensive cuts to hospitals in Maine that had been originally included in the budget proposal. "If these cuts in the reimbursements to hospitals had passed, it would have created a lot of hardship for Penobscot Valley Hospital in LIncoln," says PVH Spokesperson Allison Bankston. "We might have faced significant cuts in vital services or personnel. Instead, like many non-profits in Maine, we're exploring cost saving avenues that still allow us to preserve positions and key services to our community."

The cuts originally proposed in the budget would have cut more than $600,000 from PVH's reimbursements from the state. Overall, the cuts would have meant a $33 million a year loss for Maine hospitals. That's on top of the more than $424 million state and federal that is still owed to hospitals by MaineCare for treatment provided to patients dating back to 2005.

"These are certainly difficult, economic times for all non-profits and local business," says Bankston. "We've witnessed a number of small hospitals being forced to cut positions. PVH is hoping to avoid that by increasing our efficiency, maximizing our resources, and cutting costs in non-essential areas."

Bankston says many hospital employees wrote to their legislators asking them to make sure hospitals did not see additional reductions in funding. "Our staff did a lot of letter writing, and many of the lawmakers responded. We were very pleased that our legislators heard what we had to say and took steps to preserve these vital services in rural Maine communities."