You have been presented an outstanding opportunity to serve as a graduate student intern for the chief executive officer (CEO) of a large HCO. The HCO is an HMO model and originated approximately a century ago as a small rural hospital. Due to the rural setting, the HMO model flourished and, over the years, expanded throughout the region. Today, the HMO has a presence in over eighteen counties and has a number of competing interests from for-profit and not-for-profit HCOs in the region.

The board of directors recently approved the acquisition of two regional hospitals. First, the HCO decided to acquire a small rural critical-care-access hospital in a relatively remote county. The interest in acquiring the hospital is to service the existing population and expand the reach of the HMO. Second, the HCO decided to acquire a private full-service hospital in a moderate-size city (population forty-two thousand). The HCOs move is strategic in nature, preventing the sale of the hospital to its for-profit competitor, and will gain the region its sole emergency department level 2 (two) trauma center with helicopter transport while giving the HCO the ability to service its growing HMO membership in the area.

Based on the above information:

• Evaluate the various HMO models (staff, group, and network) and identify the model that would probably be best suited for the region. Justify your answer.
• Research and comment on the importance and applicability of the various levels of emergency department trauma care. Investigate the exemptions afforded to a critical care rural hospital with respect to Medicare reimbursement and accreditation.

The following resources are provided for this assignment: 

1. American Trauma Society, (2017). Trauma center levels explained. Retrieved from: http://www.amtrauma.org/?page=traumalevels
2. American College of Surgeons. (2017). Verified trauma centers FAQs.  Retrieved from: https://www.facs.org/quality%20programs/trauma/vrc/faq

  2- to 3-page document.