Lamoille Health Partners turns to Copley amid financial crisis
Lamoille Health Partners is facing a financial crisis, and the health care provider is turning to Copley Hospital for help.
In early October, the board of directors for the nonprofit that provides primary care, pediatric care, mental health care, substance abuse treatment and dental care to around 19,000 people throughout Lamoille County and the surrounding region found itself in dire straits.
Susan Bartlett, chair of the health partners’ board of directors, said the primary causes of this sudden deficit were the withdrawal of pandemic-era federal funding that recently buoyed the organization, and an ongoing fight between the federal government and pharmaceutical companies that cost the organization around $500,000 in rebates.
She also noted that the nonprofit’s status as one of the state’s 11 federally qualified health centers allows it to be reimbursed by Medicare and Medicaid at a higher rate than other health care providers, but that still does not equal the full cost of care. Low-income patients are also charged on a sliding scale.
Bartlett wouldn’t specify the exact size of the deficit but described it as a “tight financial situation.” She said the organization is in ongoing talks with its creditors and the state to search for a more financially sustainable path and may have to refinance some of its properties to cover the deficit.