Becker's ASC Review

13 ASC MANAGEMENT 24-clinic Florida practice files for bankruptcy By Alan Condon B oca Raton, Fla.-based Path Medical has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with $86.5 million in liabilities, South Florida Business Journal reported Sept. 2. e 24-clinic practice, which focuses on the treatment of acute trauma and accident-related injuries, cited the "effects of the COVID-19 pandemic" as the reason it initiated the debt restructuring plan. Revenue declined during the pandemic as many of its patients are those involved in auto accidents and there have been fewer people driving, an attorney for Path Medi- cal said, according to the report. Path Medical has 281 employees, and all of its physicians at chiropractic and ortho- pedic centers are independent contractors. e practice plans to continue to operate normally during bankruptcy proceedings and has received court approval to con- tinue paying its employees, South Florida Business Journal reported. Path Medical leases 17 clinics in South Florida and seven more in the Tampa Bay area. It posted $30.1 million in 2021 rev- enue through August and $45.7 million in revenue in 2020, according to the report. e practice said it is profitable based on operations, but its debt service payments were too much. According to the case summary, Path Medical has assets of $30 million and liabilities of $86.5 million, with the biggest claims from creditors coming from Sierra Income Corp. ($20 million), Comvest Capital III ($15.4 million), Northport TRS ($15.4 million) and PhenixFIN Corp. ($15.1 million). "Just as I am confident the world will manage and emerge more resilient from COVID-19, I am confident Path Medical will as well," Path Medical CEO Manny Fernandez said. "We owe it to our patients and our staff." n $17B coming for physician groups with pandemic revenue losses, HHS says By Laura Dyrda H HS made $17 billion funds available for physician groups and other healthcare providers that reported revenue loss during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is part of a $25.5 billion effort to financially support healthcare providers affected by the pandemic, announced Sept. 10. It includes $8.5 bil- lion as part of the American Rescue Plan for rural providers. Four details: 1. The funds are for providers who lost revenues and expenditures from July 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021. 2. Funding is intended for small provider groups that operate on thin margins and incurred expenses related to COVID-19, with a focus on those that serve vulnerable populations. 3. Applications for the funding will open Sept. 29. 4. The money is part of phase four of the Provider Relief Funds, and require- ments for funding are consistent with the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020. n UnityPoint sues to stop ASC from adding 2 cardiac cath labs By Laura Dyrda W est Des Moines, Iowa-based UnityPoint Health filed a lawsuit to block a large physician group from opening two cardiac catheterization labs in its ASC, according to a report from the Iowa Capital Dispatch. The Iowa Clinic, a group of 250 physicians and care providers, received a cer- tificate of need to add two cardiac catheterization labs to its surgery center in December, despite opposition from UnityPoint-Des Moines. UnityPoint argued a recent decline in case volume, excess cardiac catheterization services in the area and the revenue shift away from the hospital meant the new labs should not be approved. The Iowa health department cited CMS' approval of low-risk cardiac catheteriza- tion procedures in ASCs as a reason for approval. The Iowa Clinic physicians have privileges at UnityPoint hospitals where its cardiologists currently perform proce- dures that would move to the physician-owned ASC if the labs are constructed. UnityPoint sued the Iowa health department in April to stop the ASC's expan- sion, and in court documents filed since then has argued the ASC's cardiac catheterization labs were not safe and would put patients at risk of transfer, which delays treatment. The Iowa Clinic's lawyers fired back at the idea patients would be at risk, stat- ing: "This offensive notion obscures (UnityPoint's) obvious focus on its bottom line rather than what is best for patients." The Iowa health department's lawyers issued a statement supporting the agency's certificate of need approval, noting CMS, private insurers and the American College of Cardiology say the proposed cardiac catheterization procedures are safe for ASCs, according to the report. n

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