Marshall County Hospital Buys Clinic in Britton

BRITTON, S.D. (AP) — The medical clinic in Britton is now locally owned.

The Aberdeen American News reports Marshall County Healthcare Center has bought the clinic from Aberdeen-based Avera St. Luke's.

The health center and the clinic in Britton are connected, and the center's CEO Nick Fosness says local residents likely presumed that both facilities were locally owned. He says little will change in the clinic's operation because despite the ownership change, Avera will continue to manage it.

Fosness says the sale changes the clinic's designation to a provider-based rural health clinic, resulting in better Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

Fosness says that when Avera owned the clinic, the reimbursements were based on a per-visit rate. But by now being locally owned, the clinic's reimbursement rates will be based on operating expenses.

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