Calais Regional Hospital filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday, but hospital officials promised that the 25-bed facility would stay open as the bankruptcy case proceeds, the Bangor (Maine) Daily News reported. The hospital blamed the bankruptcy filing on a number of factors, including a drop in paying and insured patients; increased levels of care the hospital has had to provide for free; inadequate reimbursement from MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program; and increasing regulatory requirements. The hospital has lost money every year since 2007, according to its annual tax filings, though officials said Tuesday the size of the hospital’s losses shrank to $574,600 last year from $2.64 million in 2014. Serving much of Washington County and employing about 275 workers, the Calais hospital is the second rural Maine hospital to file for bankruptcy protection this year. Read more.
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