On October 1, when Miles Memorial Hospital and St. Andrews Hospital merge, the name of the new two-campus critical access hospital will change and healthcare prices will begin to drop.

The bill for laboratory tests, X-rays, minor surgeries and other medical procedures will begin to drop for patients at both St. Andrews and Miles in October and new signs will go up as St. Andrews Hospital becomes the “St. Andrews campus of LincolnHealth” and Miles Memorial Hospital becomes the “Miles campus of LincolnHealth.”

James Donovan, President and CEO of Lincoln County Healthcare, the parent company of the hospitals, said the name change underscores Lincoln County Healthcare’s mission of keeping its community healthy by offering services that are more proactive, accessible and affordable.

“The trustees really wanted to convey more clearly to the community the business that we are in, and that business is health,” Donovan said.

Combining both hospitals under a single critical access designation will allow LincolnHealth to receive a higher level of reimbursement for Medicare and MaineCare (Medicaid) patients.

Critical access hospitals are small rural hospitals that meet a list of federal requirements. They must be located either more than 35 miles from the nearest hospital, or 15 miles in mountainous terrain or in an area with only secondary roads. They must also provide no more than 25 inpatient beds.

The critical access designation will result in an estimated $5.2 million in new revenue, which will help close the gap between the cost of providing care and the reimbursement received for it.

Donovan said the board is committed to using that money to lower healthcare prices at both campuses, particularly those that affect the commercially insured and self-insured people who face the most out-of-pocket expense.

The merger, however, is only one of several changes across the Lincoln County Healthcare system designed to make care more accessible and more affordable.

All Lincoln Medical Partners practices are becoming Patient Centered Medical Homes, a model of practice that offers more same-day appointments and extended hours to make it easier for patients to see their primary care providers when they need to.

Lincoln Medical Partner practices will also offer more preventative services such as counseling and education designed to help patients stay well and out of the hospital.

At the Family Care Center in Boothbay Harbor, for example, Care Transitions Nurse Bobbi Jo McFarland, RN, works with patients who have recently come home from a hospital or a rehabilitation facility to make sure they have the support they need to recover. Pharmacist Meredith Hackett, PharmD, educates Family Care Center patients on how to take their medications so they can avoid problems that can result in hospital stays.

A new St. Andrews Urgent Care Center will charge patients about 30 percent less than the current Emergency Department and feature the same highly trained emergency physicians and nurses. Privately insured patients, who are responsible for a co-pay, may notice an even larger drop in their bill.

The Urgent Care Center will be open 12 hours (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and will serve the needs of about 80 percent of the patients who now use the St. Andrews Emergency Department at lower prices and with less waiting. The most critically ill patients will be taken by ambulance to larger emergency departments who have the specialty services needed for the most intensive cases.

Donovan said prices are expected to decrease in two phases, with the first phase beginning October 1, when the name change takes effect. The second change will take place about six months later, after it can be determined how much additional revenue is coming in due to the change.

He said Lincoln County Healthcare is asking for feedback about what price decreases would be most meaningful.

“We want to hear from folks,” Donovan said. “We want to hear what information they are trying to gather to make their healthcare decisions,” he said.

Anyone who would like to offer input on the price decreases can email James Donovan at james.donovan@lchcare.org.