MU Health Care is investing capital growth.
A new intraoperative MRI is in place, positioning the Columbia, Mo.-based academic health system as a regional destination for advanced neurosurgical care. It’s also working on an operating suite in the health system’s new children’s hospital, set to open next spring, and cath lab and electrophysiology capacity expansions are underway to meet growing cardiovascular demand across Mid Missouri.
The commitments are significant. They are also being made as the reimbursement environment for academic health systems like MU Health Care faces pressure from three directions simultaneously: proposed changes to the 340B drug pricing program, Medicaid reductions and site neutrality.
Tonya Johnson, DNP, RN, MU Health Care’s COO, says the combination demands discipline beyond what the system has had in the past.
“The proposed changes to 340B, to Medicaid, site neutrality, all require us to be extremely disciplined in our decision making and very proactive in the planning around capital investments and operating expenses,” she said. “Prioritizing our strategic capital projects that improve both access and our long term sustainability are front of mind for us.”
None of the three policy threats has reached final resolution, and their combined shape remains genuinely uncertain. Dr. Johnson is candid about what that means for long-range planning.
“I wish we had a crystal ball,” she said. “That would be great because we could certainly put our plan in ink versus pencil.”
MU Health Care’s response has been to focus planning on variables that are not policy-dependent, such as patient demand and operational efficiency. The logic is that investing in services patients are already seeking, in locations they can access, produces a position the system can defend regardless of how the reimbursement landscape ultimately plays out.
“We don’t know what the shifting models and payment reimbursements will actually look like,” she said. “There’s a lot of proposed threats to that. But the best way we can position ourselves is to become as efficient as possible and to take care of as many patients who need our care as we possibly can in areas and locations that are convenient and close to home for them.”
The capital decisions support that strategy. In surgical services, regional demand continues to grow, and the children’s hospital OR expansion is designed to meet it while running as efficiently as possible.
“We’ve got demand for surgical care that continues to grow across our region, and now our operating room capacity needs to run as efficiently as possible, but we also know that the data shows we need advanced surgical technology and increased capacity,” Dr. Johnson said. “Our new intraoperative MRI really strengthens our position as a regional destination for advanced neurosurgical care and meets a growing need for our patients.”
In cardiovascular services, the investment thesis is similarly demand-driven. Cardiovascular disease is among the highest-prevalence healthcare needs in the region, and the cath lab and electrophysiological buildout is aimed at keeping interventional care closer to the patients who need it.
Dr. Johnson said the growth strategy is not about volume for its own sake. The argument for each capital commitment is access, ensuring patients in Mid Missouri can receive specialized care without traveling for it.
“The growth isn’t just growth for the sake of growth,” she said. “It’s not about adding volume. It’s really about ensuring our patients in Mid Missouri and throughout Missouri can access specialized high quality care close to where they live.”
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