Becker's ASC Review

67 HEALTHCARE NEWS CMS terminates Kentucky hospital's Medicare contract By Ayla Ellison C MS ended its provider agreement with Southeastern Kentucky Medical Center in Pineville. A survey of Southeastern Kentucky Medical Center on Jan. 30 by the Kentucky State Survey Agency found the hospital was not in compliance with Medicare rules and revealed several deficiencies related to patient care. Inspectors identified an immediate jeopardy to patient health and safety due to the hospital's failure to maintain cardiology services, equipment to monitor patient medical conditions, medications for patient emergencies and staffing to provide required care to patients, according to a survey report provided to Becker's Hospital Review. In a March 29 letter, CMS notified Southeastern Kentucky Medical Center officials that the hospi- tal's Medicare contract would be terminated if it did not make changes to comply with Medicare rules. e hospital failed to make the necessary changes and CMS terminated its provider agree- ment May 24, according to a letter the agency sent to Southeastern Kentucky Medical Center's CEO, a copy of which was provided to Becker's. e Medicare program will not reimburse South- eastern Kentucky Medical Center for services provided to patients whose plan of treatment was established on or aer May 24, according to the involuntary termination notice. Termination of the hospital's participation in the Medicare program also resulted in the termination of its Medicaid agreement. Southeastern Kentucky Medical Center, formerly called Pineville Community Hospital, was owned and operated by the Pineville Community Hospital Association until two years ago. In 2017, the hospi- tal association entered into an agreement with Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Americore Health. PCHA still owns the hospital real estate, but it entered a long-term lease deal and sold non-real estate assets to Americore. Earlier this month, the Middlesboro Daily News reported that Southeastern Kentucky Medical Center was roughly $400,000 behind on payroll and needed an influx of cash to overcome financial troubles and keep its doors open. During an emer- gency meeting May 9, the Pineville City Council voted unanimously to allow Mayor Scott Madon to gather information about acquiring the licenses to operate the hospital from Americore Health. n Physician compensation grew most for these 5 specialties By Emily Rappleye P hysician compensation increased across the board from 2017 to 2018, with primary care physicians earning a 3.4 percent increase, specialty physicians earning a 4.4 percent increase and advanced practice providers earning 2.9 percent more, according to data from the Medical Group Management Association. Physician pay has followed an upward trajectory over the past five years, with total compensation growing between 7 percent and 11 percent across all specialties. MGMA credits this growth in compensation to the physician shortage. The tight labor market leaves many practices compet- ing to attract new hires, driving up salary and compensation packages. Here are the five specialties that experienced the biggest increase in median total compensation in 2018: 1. Diagnostic radiology — 7.71 percent increase in median total compensation 2. Obstetrics/gynecology — 7.69 percent increase 3. Surgery, neurological — 7.46 percent increase 4. Cardiology, noninvasive — 7.45 percent increase 5. Neurology — 6.72 percent increase Data is based on a voluntary survey of more than 147,000 providers across 5,500 organizations. n Tennessee hospital to lose Medicare contract By Ayla Ellison J amestown (Tenn.) Regional Medical Center is facing financial troubles and is set to see its Medicare and Medicaid funding cut in June, accord- ing to The Tennessean. On May 29, CMS announced the 85-bed hospital will no longer receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements as of June 12 because it does not meet conditions of participation. The hospital, which recently halted patient admissions, is struggling to stay afloat. In April, power was shut off to parts of the hospital because of a past-due electricity bill totaling $33,000. As of this month, the hospital owes more than $4 million to 200 vendors and has run out of necessary supplies, according to The Tennessean, which cited CMS inspection reports. According to the inspection reports, the hospital withheld income taxes or Social Security funds from employees' paychecks but never deposited those funds with the government. One employee told inspectors that her Social Security payments had not been made in three years, according to The Tennessean. The hospital, owned by West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Rennova Health, was reportedly preparing to close May 16 but ultimately remained opened on a day-to-day basis. On May 21, Jamestown Mayor Lyndon Baines told local TV station WBIR that the hospital could close "any day now." n

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