Weston County hospital finance committee outlines audit timeline, accounts-receivable fixes and chargemaster review

Finance committee leaders told the Weston County Hospital Board on a monthly update that work to stabilize the hospital’s revenue cycle is under way, with a revenue‑cycle consultant completing interviews, internal Epic transmission fixes in progress, and a chargemaster review scheduled ahead of Medicare updates.

Board members heard the timeline and key technical fixes the committee says are needed to reduce accounts‑receivable days and improve monthly reporting.

The board was told the consulting group Nova Revenue Group has completed staff interviews and is documenting process recommendations; the committee also discovered the hospital’s claims “back end scrubber” was not activated in Epic, a tool that should compare electronic claims to contracted rates and route exceptions into a work queue. “That piece is missing,” the presenter said, adding that without it billers must research payments manually, slowing collections.

Why it matters: the consultant work, systems fixes and a chargemaster update are meant to reduce outstanding claims, make month‑to‑month results more reliable and position the hospital for Medicare timing changes this fall.

Board discussion and next steps The finance committee set a goal to have department‑level financial reports available for committee review next month and to keep full board distribution limited while formats are tested. Committee members said Epic transmission issues remain partially unresolved and that those fixes will change accrual and revenue recognition for fiscal year reporting.

Auditors and timeline Committee members said auditors have completed the accounts‑receivable portion of the audit and that the audit could be finished in about 5–8 weeks. The completion date matters because final corrections for fiscal 2024 roll into the 2025 numbers and affect cost‑report filings; staff said they will continue weekly coordination calls with the auditors and the state (Myers & Stauffer).

ChargeMaster and pricing changes A ChargeMaster review is under way with updates planned before Medicare’s November/January cycles. Staff said a limited, not blanket, 3% price adjustment is under consideration, and that some charges will increase, some decrease and many will remain unchanged; certain low‑volume services (for example, mammography) likely will be left alone to preserve local affordability.

Cash flow, transfers and collections Cash collections were down roughly $300,000 in June but staff reported those receipts arrived in the first two weeks of July. The board reviewed a new cash‑flow sheet that lists recent transfers from the money‑market account and why the funds were drawn: $186,000 for lab equipment, $42,659 for the RadX line tied to the CT project and $17,750 for an injector. Staff said these transfers are drawn from designated buckets (donations or project reserves), not general savings.

Inventory and tech Staff said the inventory system is working but the scanner hardware supplied during the Sage implementation is old and may need replacement; staff are seeking quotes and attempting software fixes first. Radiology and CT revenue coding issues are being addressed as part of the ChargeMaster review.

What the board asked for Board members asked for a stand‑alone fiscal‑year‑end document for FY2025 as accruals and audit corrections come in so the board can track the final year outcome independent of monthly operating reports.

Ending Committee staff said work will continue on accounts receivable, audit coordination and the ChargeMaster; the finance committee will report back with updated formats and more detailed department‑level numbers.