Big South Fork Medical Center in Oneida, Tenn., saw a 30% drop in cash received in June and July compared to previous months, which then delayed its Aug. 16 payroll, CEO Hal Leftwich emailed to Becker's.
The hospital, owned by West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Rennova Health, confirmed its Aug. 30 payroll went out on time.
An internal email posted on Facebook by an employee showed Rennova's vice president of human resources informing employees that "payroll is not fully funded."
The hospital's Aug. 19 statement, posted on its Facebook page, cited a drop in payments from payers, including Medicare. The decrease in payments stemmed from numerous causes, all of which have been rectified, Mr. Leftwich said.
For example, Mr. Leftwich said Medicare withheld payments for nearly two months awaiting answers to questions on its annual cost report filed May 31.
"In what became the perfect storm for cash flow, two other major payers had imposed a 100% claw-back because the appropriate hospital staff did not receive and have an opportunity to reply to notifications received," Mr. Leftwich wrote to Becker's. "All payer-related issues have been rectified in August and we expect to see payments received returning to normal in September."
Big South Fork has run into this issue before. The Independent Herald reported in March 2021 that employees had not been paid for six weeks.
"We are proud of what has been accomplished at Big South Fork hospital in the past few years and while months like the past two are uncomfortable, they are a reminder of how quickly a rural hospital can exhaust a cash flow that is vital for many local families," Mr. Leftwich said.