Becker's Hospital Review

7 CFO / FINANCE Hospital CEOs blast distributing stimulus funds based on Medicare revenue By Alia Paavola H ospital CEOs in April blasted HHS' decision to distribute the first $30 billion in emergency fund- ing based on Medicare fee-for-service revenue, according to Kaiser Health News. HHS said April 10 it would allocate money to hospitals and providers based on their historical share of reve- nue from the Medicare program, rather than the bur- den caused by the coronavirus or number of uninsured patients treated. Kenneth Raske, CEO of the Greater New York Hospital Association, wrote in an April 8 memo to association members that the method is "woefully insufficient to ad- dress the financial challenges facing hospitals at this time, especially those located in 'hot spot' areas such as the New York City region." Another CEO, Carlos Migoya of Jackson Health System, said that the way the bailout money is being distributed "could jeopardize the very existence" of the health sys- tem. Jackson Health is a nonprofit system in Miami, one of the harder-hit cities in the U.S. Bruce Siegel, MD, president and CEO of America's Essen- tial Hospitals, said the basis of distributing the funding could be a disadvantage for hospitals most in need. "e allocation formula for this tranche will leave many essential hospitals behind just when they need aid the most," Dr. Siegel said. "Our hospitals are struggling now to manage surging patient volume, staff and supply short- ages, and other severe challenges as their limited cash re- serves dwindle." America's Essential Hospitals represent more than 300 safety-net hospitals in the U.S., which care for large num- bers of uninsured and Medicaid patients. Dr. Siegel added that because they treat a large share of uninsured and Medicaid patients that a "distribution for- mula based on Medicare fee-for-service revenue misses the mark for many of our members and their patients." An HHS spokesperson told Kaiser Health News the agen- cy decided to use Medicare revenue as the basis of distri- bution because it "allowed us to make initial payments to providers as quickly as possible." e $30 billion is part of $100 billion in emergency stim- ulus funding earmarked for hospitals from the Coronavi- rus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. n COVID-19 financial damage forces West Virginia hospital to close By Ayla Ellison W illiamson (W.Va.) Hospital has been in a fragile financial position since last year, and a drop in patient volume due to the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the hospital to close, according to a statement from the hospital's CEO. The 76-bed hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October, about 17 months after Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems sold the facility to Williamson-based Mingo Health Part- ners. Though the hospital has taken steps to improve its financial position, it's unable to overcome the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. "Over the past seven months … we were able to right size the orga- nization, streamline operations and fix a large portion of the revenue cycle issues," Williamson Hospital CEO Gene Preston said in an April 20 message to employees and the local community. "Unfortunately, the decline in volumes experienced from the current pandemic were too sudden and severe for us to sustain operations." Mingo Health Partners first announced plans in late March to close the hospital. About a week later, the bankruptcy court approved a $3.7 million bid for the hospital from Williamson Health & Wellness. Mr. Preston said the new owner may reopen certain services at the hospital, including emergency care, labs and X-rays, after the COVID-19 pandemic ends. "We're all deeply saddened by the closing," Keith Blankenship, ad- ministrator for the Mingo County (W.Va.) health department told West Virginia Public Broadcasting. "Hopefully something better will come along through the Health and Wellness Center." n 900 furloughed MUSC employees to get insurance paid for by donations By Morgan Haefner N early 900 employees at the Medical University of South Car- olina in Charleston who have been temporarily laid off will see their monthly health insurance premiums covered by two donors, according to local news station Count On News 2. The combined $384,000 donation from two benefactors will pay for affected employees' premiums through June 30. MUSC Health had committed to covering its employer contribution to the premi- ums during the furlough period, according to the report. "We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of these two amazing people and for what they have tangibly done to make a difference in the lives of these families," MUSC Health CEO Patrick Cawley, MD, told the news channel. "Thanks to these gifts, our care team members can find some comfort in knowing that their healthcare is one less thing they have to worry about right now." n

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