Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Hospital Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sherry Medical Center reports tighter collections, ongoing March loss; board briefed on CharityCare policy and staffing
Summary
Board accepted CEO and CFO reports showing improved cash collections and lower accounts payable but a March operating loss; trustees were briefed on suspended CharityCare, radiology-driven billing delays and an IRS penalty appeal that was largely resolved.
Sherry Medical Center trustees on Monday accepted the CEO and CFO reports that showed improved cash collections and a drop in accounts payable, while hospital operations posted a net operating loss for March.
Candace, chief executive officer of Sherry Medical Center, told trustees the adult day program and supported living services are progressing and that the hospital is switching revenue-cycle vendors this summer after a five-year contract with TrueBridge. "TrueBridge is knocking it out of the park right now in their last few weeks of service, amazingly," Candace said, adding that a new company is training to take over when the contract ends in June.
Kelly, the hospital's finance lead, reported an operating cash balance of $100,648 for March, equivalent to about 3.6 days of operating expenses. Accounts payable fell to $807,000, and the share of invoices more than 90 days past due is 31 percent; excluding invoices on deferred payment plans or approved payment arrangements, 13 percent remain over 90 days, Kelly said.
Kelly told trustees that gross patient revenue for March was about $2.48 million and that net patient revenue was reported at $894,974, a decline from prior months. He said patient days and clinic visits were down and that accounts placed with collection agencies in March totaled $86,544. He also outlined a national shortage of radiologists that is delaying radiology reads and holding up third-party billing for some claims.
On other financial matters, trustees were told the hospital is participating in a national class-action settlement with Blue Cross; the settlement amount discussed in committee was characterized as approximately $2 billion in total settlement funds nationally, though the hospital will submit routine paperwork and will not receive anywhere near that amount on its own. Kelly also said the hospital received a Medicare interim rate adjustment in February and a final cost-report settlement in April of $266,000.
Trustees were briefed on the hospital's CharityCare practice. Kelly said CharityCare was suspended for most of March while staff revised the policy; the revised policy will return to the board for final approval. On employee benefits, trustees heard that an IRS appeal reduced a previously notified penalty (originally about $206,000 plus interest) to roughly $6,000 after successful appeal work by HR staff.
The board heard that department heads have completed tentative budget meetings and that administration will bring a proposed budget to trustees no later than June. Kelly also said the hospital is implementing text- and email-based billing notices and that patients who do not want electronic invoices can request paper statements through registration.
The board voted to accept the CEO and CFO reports as presented.
