Effective tomorrow, June 1st, the LBJ Tropical Medical Center will temporarily suspend the facility fee for all American Samoa residents.
An announcement from the hospital management says proof of residency must be presented for US nationals, US citizens and legal resident Immigration ID valid card holders.
The suspension applies to all outpatient clinics and related services.
These include the following clinics: Dental, Ear Nose and Throat, Dialysis, Eye, General Surgery, Internal/Medical, Laboratory Service. OB/GYN, Orthopedic Surgery, Pediatrics, Radiology and Rehabilitation or Physical Therapy Services.
The Emergency Room (ER) will continue to charge the $20 facility fee.
The Pharmacy Services $10 per prescription facility fee will continue.
Self payers will incur cost of services.
As listeners will recall, LBJ CEO Faumuina John Faumuina first announced the suspension of the facility fee at a cabinet meeting last week.
He explained in a follow up interview with KHJ News that one of the reasons why the LBJ Hospital wants to suspend the $10 facility use fee is to encourage the community to use the outpatient clinics and alleviate overcrowding in the ER.
The CEO said the suspension is the result of the work by LBJ’s Revenue Cycle consultant from off island.
The consultant, MedHealth Solutions, is a US-based healthcare consulting firm that helps hospitals with various services.
It focuses on service development, adding services in support of community needs, physician needs and the overall needs of the hospital.
MedHealth specializes in Revenue Cycle Management, the objective of which is to put long lasting standardized processes in place that will allow the hospital to capture revenue from all payer sources.
Faumuina says MedHealth is currently working with the LBJ team to improve RCM processes, helping the hospital implement proven processes currently used in hospitals throughout the US.
He said as RCM processes are established, revenue increases.
Faumuna told KHJ News, “I have to reach out for help to see how we can increase revenues at LBJ. With MedHealth Solutions, I am beginning to see positive results. Besides revenue, I am also glad to see the staff are excited to be part of this new process.”
