David Rice, president and chief executive officer for Haywood Regional Medical Center, has been named board chairman for the North Carolina Hospital Association.

The N.C. Hospital Association is a statewide trade association representing 135 hospitals and health networks. The association promotes improved community health status and delivery of quality healthcare through leadership, information, education, and advocacy in members’ interests and for public benefit.

Rice will lead the state organization at a time when it is working closely with the state to address the need for crisis services for mental health patients, changes in federal reimbursement for Medicaid patients and issues related to improving the quality of care for all patients.

Rice, who has been a member of the NCHA for about 30 years and a member of the NCHA board of directors since 1986, said he is looking forward to a challenging year as the board chairman.

“If I can help lead the charge to help hospitals get fair compensation for Medicare and Medicaid patients and find a solution to the mental health crisis, I find that a very rewarding task,” Rice said.

The growth in the number of Medicaid patients is increasing rapidly, he said, along with the number of uninsured individuals. If hospitals are not fairly reimbursed for providing health care to those individuals, the shortfall has to be made up elsewhere, he added.

“There ultimately are financial repercussions,” Rice said. “Collectively, hospitals represented by the NCHA are working to find a reimbursement formula that will work.”

The approach to resolving treatment of mental health patients remains a “very shredded solution,” Rice said. Therefore, hospital administrators must involve state government to successfully address and develop an entirely new approach to the mental health system, he said.

Rice also serves on the government affairs committee of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, on the financial committee of the Haywood County Economic Development Commission, chairman of the Mountain Area Health Education Center board, chairman of the WNC Health Network board, is a member of the Waynesville Rotary Club and serves on his church’s finance committee.