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PMC finance report shows positive month; tax-credit claim and Medicare desk review affect statements
Summary
Petersburg Medical Center finance staff reported a strong March operating month, a recorded Employee Retention Tax Credit claim of $2.933 million, a $450,000 Medicare desk-review payment expected, and cash improvements tied to billing changes and cost-report settlements.
Petersburg Medical Center finance staff told the board April 24 that March produced a positive operating month and that several large accounting items will influence upcoming financial statements.
Kent, a hospital finance presenter, said gross revenues for the month were about $2.6 million against a budget of $2.3 million, and net revenue was about $2.0 million against a $1.8 million budget. He reported strong volumes in swing-bed and rehab services and cited outpatient, inpatient and clinic statistics for the month.
Kent told the board that PMC recorded a claim for the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) totaling $2,933,000. The hospital has retained a firm to file the claim; Kent said IRS processing is slow and payments can take up to two years, but accounting records show the receivable. Kent also disclosed a related consulting fee liability of about $540,000 that PMC has recorded as an expense and a corresponding liability to the firm that assisted with the ERTC application; he said parts of that fee are expected to be reimbursed through Medicare cost-report processes when applicable.
On Medicare settlements, Kent said a desk review of the 2023 cost report produced a correction that will pay PMC about $450,000; separately, an interim rate review for fiscal 2025 could result in a repayment of roughly $200,000 to Medicare, a timing and estimate Kent said the finance team is monitoring. He characterized the hospital’s overall cost-report position as largely net neutral at present because Medicare payments for some case-mix changes roughly offset increased swing-bed days.
Operational metrics cited included: 750 clinic visits in March, 213 radiology procedures, 1,500 lab tests, 60 emergency department visits, 29 acute-care days, 33 swing-bed days for the month and 922 year-to-date swing-bed days. Kent said a subset of swing-bed days (about 278) reflected patients who could not be discharged to long-term care and were managed as ICF (intermediate care facility) days, which affects cost-report calculations.
Hospital executives also reported progress on insourcing the business office and a forthcoming budget presentation; cash balances are improving as some backlog tied to the state’s PERS technical issues is being paid down. Kent said year-to-date the hospital reported a positive bottom line ($12,000,862 year-to-date in the meeting report) and that the finance team will present a proposed budget at next month’s meeting.
Board members and staff discussed implementation and timing: Jason, a finance staff member, said noting the board’s action on the CHNA would be sufficient for IRS compliance forms. Kent cautioned that Medicare settlement timing and the ERTC payment schedule remain uncertain and have multiyear administrative timelines.
No formal financial motions were taken at the April meeting; the board discussed the financial report and moved on to the Community Needs Assessment item.
