The future of a hospital with critical access care functions is still on track to open in Mexico, a Boone Health official told media and local leaders on Monday.

Brady Dubois, president and chief executive officer with Boone Health, met with local media and then later spoke before a joint session of the Mexico City Council, Audrain County Commission and Audrain County Health Department board. Dobois said many variables have to be considered for a hospital to open here, and he said that Boone Health has three candidates to choose from to be a health system partner for the hospital. He did not name those companies but lauded their backgrounds. He said at the council meeting each prospective partner is “substantially larger” than Boone.

In the press briefing, held at city hall, Dubois said the biggest challenge is understanding the variables in the due diligence process, including the reimbursement landscape, because in Audrain County, around 27% of residents are on Medicaid. He said when funding is cut out of the Medicaid system and knowing what the Medicaid population is in this county and the state, that will create a budget shortfall that will need to be considered and that will affect the variables that need to be pinned down so that the financial pro forma can be finalized. He mentioned tariffs being an issue with the cost of goods.

“Things looked different six months ago than they do right now, and the challenge that’s really out there is understanding what it’s going to look like when the doors open (a few years from now),” he said. “What is that landscape going to look like to where we can plug those variables in?”

He said officials are looking at opportunities to bring initial expenses down as well as ponder overall, ongoing revenue considerations and just get through that phase with a lot of new unknowns that appeared in the landscape in the last few months.

In October 2024, Boone Health signed a letter of intent with the city, Audrain County Health Department and Audrain County Commission to establish a critical access hospital in Mexico. At the council meeting Monday, members of the council, commission and board asked questions about the hospital project. For more information on the hospital project, see the Oct. 22 edition of The Mexico Ledger.