Senate Bill 1359, which changes the rules for county hospitals in rural areas, was signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson Thursday morning during a bill signing at the state capitol.
Also signed by the governor is SB 1453, which designates the Dr. Dan Brown Memorial Highway in Phelps County. The late Dr. Brown, who died in 2021, is a former state senator from Rolla. His son, Justin, currently serves as state senator.
SB 1359 had a controversial lead up to its signing. Salem Memorial Hospital last month called for the public to urge Parson to veto the bill due to concerns of Phelps Health growing its services in Dent County, where SMH is located.
Rep. Tara Peters (R-Rolla), who introduced the new legislation said at the time the information being circulated is “not true.”
“The rumor is that we're trying to close local hospitals. That is not true. This bill helps rural hospitals,” Peters said when contacted then by The Salem News. “All of my legislation this year is actually to promote (rural hospitals).”
State representative Ron Copeland of Salem, who represents Dent County where SMH is located, disagreed with Peters’ assessment of the bill. In an undated letter to Parson that Copeland’s office also sent two weeks ago to The Salem News, Copeland detailed his concerns. Copeland could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
“Recently, a large hospital has established a clinic in our area, offering basic medical services,” wrote Copeland, who did not name the hospital. “Due to current statutes, this clinic is restricted from providing these services within our hospital district, as SMH already offers similar services. SB SS HCS 1359, while primarily focused on financial institutions, includes bill language and provisions that would allow larger healthcare agencies to enter our rural area and compete directly with SMH, potentially jeopardizing its ability to continue providing essential services to our community.
“Allowing larger healthcare agencies to compete within our district could lead to decreased resources for SMH, potentially resulting in its closure and leaving our community without access to vital healthcare services.”
Other health-care providers in Salem and Dent County include Mercy, Four Rivers Community Health Center and Dent County Health Center. Phelps Health has a clinic at 1415 West Scenic Rivers Blvd. Four Rivers has purchased property across from the old fairgrounds and announced earlier this year its intention to demolish the building and build a new healthcare facility in its place, expanding access to medical, dental and behavioral health care in Salem and surrounding communities.
The SMH form letter read in part, “allowing larger outside health systems to enter our special hospital district poses significant risks. These entities often prioritize financial returns over patient care, which can lead to reduced services, higher costs for patients, and potential closures of unprofitable departments. This could leave our residents without access to critical healthcare services and undermine the economic stability of our communities.”
Peters, who could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday, in previous comments reiterated her claim that SB 1359 would help, not hurt hospitals.
“Last year, my rural hospital (Phelps Health) came to me, and there are two state statutes that are a little archaic when it comes to helping county rural hospitals function and be profitable,” she said. “One of those state statutes has to do with the geographic location.”
Peters explained if there is a county hospital in a certain community, another county hospital is prevented from doing business within a five-mile radius.
“And that was obviously intended so that we weren't having hospitals compete with county hospitals,” Peters said, adding Phelps Health already operates a clinic in Salem.
“In order for (Phelps Health) to continue to do preferred billing, and in order to be in compliance with the state statute, they asked me to propose a bill that would make them, again, operational with the state statute, bring it up to term and that they would be able to do that billing in Salem.”
Peters says there are safeguards in the statute that will not change, saying there are two hurdles for county hospitals with intentions of building in a community: county commissioner approval and a certificate of need.
“It’s not like Phelps Health can just come in and build a hospital,” she said.
See more on this breaking story in next week’s print editions of The Salem News and Phelps County Focus and their websites.
