Hospital officials plead case for residency program with CMS

Members of the executive leadership team of Lakeland (Florida) Regional Medical Center (LRMC) traveled to Washington D.C., this week to plead its case for running its own residency program.

The team was scheduled for a face-to-face meeting with Marilyn Tavenner, CMS administrator, to discuss a year-long dispute with Medicare officials concerning funding. LRMC wants to run its own residency program, which would make it eligible for $30 million in federal funds per year. However, Medicare officials have said LRMC doesn’t qualify for funding at that level because residents rotated through LRMC as part of other training programs. If that initial decision stands, LRMC would only receive $300,000 per year from Medicare.