Becker's Hospital Review

25 CFO / FINANCE Hospitals get more time to repay Medicare loans By Ayla Ellison P resident Donald Trump on Sept. 30 signed a short-term spending bill that funds the government through Dec. 11 and relaxes the repayment terms for Medicare loans hospitals received earlier this year. e funding bill, previously passed by the House of Representatives and Senate, extends the date for when CMS will begin recouping Medicare advance payments that were sent to hospitals to help offset financial strain tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. CMS will wait one year aer the loan was issued to begin with- holding Medicare payments to recoup the funds. e loans were originally due 120 days aer they were issued. e spending bill also delays Medicaid Dis- proportionate Share Hospital payment cuts. e American Hospital Association com- mended Congress for passing the bill and thanked CMS Administrator Seema Verma for responding to hospitals' concerns. "Medicare accelerated and advance payments have been a lifeline to many hospitals and health systems in the fight against this historic pandemic, allowing them to continue to deliv- er the care that their patients and communi- ties depend on," the AHA said. "We thank Ad- ministrator Verma and CMS for their initial responsiveness to hospital concerns in helping to put these payment programs in place. In addition, we appreciate the responsible man- ner in which they managed the recoupment process by calibrating it with the impending congressional action. eir approach avoided potential confusion and significant adminis- trative burden at a time when hospitals are focused on the pandemic." e AHA is seeking forgiveness of the Medi- care loans and pushing to extend the delay of Medicaid DSH payment cuts through the end of fiscal year 2021. n Vermont hospital, associated health clinics to split after emerging from bankruptcy By Alia Paavola S pringfield (Vt.) Hospital and its associated health center network have filed plans to split when they emerge from bankruptcy, ac- cording to Valley News. The organizations filed for bankruptcy in June 2019 after several years of operating losses and a debt load that reached about $20 million. The organizations said the losses were due to revenue declines, increased employee costs and expanding services that were not profitable. The bankruptcy exit plan hinges in large part on Vermont paying $6 million in exit funding to support the 25-bed hospital and related feder- ally qualified health centers. About $4 million would go to the hospital and $2 million to Springfield Medical Care Systems, which has clinics in Vermont cities of Ludlow, Londonderry, Rockingham and Springfield as well as Charlestown, N.H., according to the report. The plan also would write off about $4.7 million in unpaid taxes owed to the state. Under the bankruptcy exit plan, Springfield Hospital and the network of federally qualified health centers will move forward as separate entities, but still plan to work collaboratively. Springfield Medical Care Systems was established in 2009 as a parent organization to the community health center network and Springfield Hospital. The organizations joined together to share clinical and admin- istrative services and administrative costs. Moving forward, the two organizations will continue to tackle adminis- trative costs jointly, but they will each pay their own portion into those costs, according to the shared services agreement filed with the court. The organizations anticipate exiting bankruptcy by the end of the year. Springfield Hospital's interim CEO Mike Halsted told Valley News he an- ticipates revisiting talks with potential hospital partners about a need for a formal alliance when the hospital emerges from bankruptcy. n Baylor St. Luke's regains Medicare funding for heart transplants By Ayla Ellison C MS reinstated funding for Houston-based Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center's heart transplant program two years after reim- bursement was cut off, according to the Houston Chronicle. CMS terminated funding for heart transplants performed at Baylor St. Luke's in August 2018 af- ter an investigation by ProPublica and the Hous- ton Chronicle revealed several patient deaths and surgical complications. The investigation re- vealed three of nine patients who received heart transplants at the hospital in the first six months of 2018 had died, and the hospital's heart trans- plant rate ranked near the bottom nationally. In a letter made public Sept. 29, CMS said sur- veyors concluded an inspection of the heart transplant program and found no deficiencies. Medicare funding was reinstated Aug. 25, ac- cording to the report. "We are excited to be recognized as fully accred- ited again," Doug Lawson, PhD, CEO of CHI St. Luke's Health, told the Houston Chronicle. "This is the result of hours of hard work by a team of exceptional professionals and sets the stage for Baylor St. Luke's to serve the community for the years to come. The hospital made several changes to address the deficiencies identified by CMS, including bringing in new leadership and quality improve- ment staff for the heart transplant program. n

• Cover