February was a busy month for Warner Hospital CEO Paul Skowron. Not because the flu ran roughshod through the community and schools, but because he was in front of state and federal lawmakers to lobby to keep funding intact for rural hospitals in Illinois.

Skowron says he talked with Congressman Rodney Davis and Senator Dick Durbin in Washington, DC and talked with Senator Chapin Rose and first-term Representative Dan Caulkins. Skowron indicates they were all receptive to his message.

According to Skowron, the lawmakers are working on a program called "The Choice Program for Veterans", which seeks to provide veterans with a reasonable price for health care.

In Springfield, the message was similar and Skowron says the representation for Clinton was very aware of the funding challenges facing rural hospitals, especially as it relates to Medicaid reimbursements. 

Skowron explains the federal government partially funds the Medicaid program and Medicaid makes up around 40-percent of the hospital's annual budget.