Illinois owes hospitals $25 million – St. Louis Business Journal:

The state owes Memorial Hospitalo a totalof $11.33 million in Medicaid payments that have been outstandingt for more than 30 days. “Clearly, $11.3 million is a very largew sumof money,” said Mark president and CEO of the 313-bedc hospital. “There is a greatg deal we could do with that moneh as far as purchasing equipmen orexpanding services.” Memorial is not The state owes more than $25 milliohn to hospitals in the Metrio East. While waiting for reimbursements fromthe St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Bellevillse is tappingcash reserves, and in Granite City and in Maryvillre have tightened their spending.
But relief may be on the way in the form of federalk stimulus fundingfor Medicaid. According to the Illinoi Hospital Association, the state’s backlog of unpaid Medicaied bills stood at morethan $2 billion as of Apriol 9. The average paymenty cycle for Medicaid accounts in the statse is160 days, according to the IHA, with some hospitalz waiting as long as 350 days to receivd payment. “Like any we would like to be paid forservices delivered,” Turnet said. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn recentlu vowed to pay down thesde pastdue accounts, stating that the “state of Illinoid is committed to paying its bills.
” Througb the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federalk government has earmarked stimulus funds to help covet Medicaid costs, but states can continuing receiviny the funding only if they reduce theirr payment cycle to less than 30 days by June 1. To achievde this goal, the Illinois Department of Healthcar and Family Services has drawn morethan $200 millionn in federal stimulus funds thus far. “This is a promising firs step toward reducing the paymenft cycle and to meeting our commitmeng to paying providers in 30 days or Quinn said ina statement.
Turner said Belleville Memorial’sx size has helped it handler the “bumps in the payment cycle” withouf a strain on operations. With $239.8 million in 2008 revenue, Belleville Memorial is the largesf hospital in the Metro Medicaid payments account for 21 percenf ofthe hospital’s budget. Across town at St. Elizabeth’ds Hospital, Medicaid patients account foraboutr 13.5 percent of the patienr population. And that number is expected to rise in the currentfeconomic climate, according to Johnny Watkins, chief financial officeer of the hospital. St. Elizabeth’zs is owed $3.3 million in states Medicaid payments, of which about $1.
8 million has been outstandingy for 90 ormore days. “It’s a big deal for Watkins said. The hospital’s average Medicaid payment cycl is close tothe IHA’s 160-day statewide average, he said. For non-Medicaicd payers, St. Elizabeth’s average paymengt cycle is about55 days. “That just says that much of the Medicaifd receivables have aged out to well over what wouled be expected byother payers,” Watkinsw said. “As we render care, we have to pay our we have to make and we are using our cash reserve to fund the When they go toa 30-day cycle, that will take the burdej off our cash reserve to pay our St.
Elizabeth’s, a 505-bed hospital, reportesd $170.8 million in 2008 revenue. St. Anthony’ Health Center, a 229-bed hospitalp in Alton, is waiting on a 123-day backlohg of Medicaid payments, totalinyg $1.98 million in unpaid receivables. St. Joseph’sx Hospital, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Highland, has a $1.9 million backlog of Medicaid receivables. The state owes Andersonb Hospital in Maryvilleabout $3 million in Medicaidf payments dating back six to nine months. Anderson’s payment cycle for Medicaisd has been averaging around200 days, versuss its 20- to 40-day cycle for non-Medicaid according to Mike Marshall, chiecf financial officer.
The hospital got a $2 millio payment from the state in one of the few the hospital has received inrecenft months. “They kicked out some cash to usin December, but in the previouxs six to eight months, we receiveed few payments, and many months we receivef no payments,” Marshall said. The 144-ber hospital had $115 million in 2008 About 10 percent ofthe hospital’ s patient volume is covered by While waiting for the Medicaid reimbursements, Anderson has had to be “prettuy diligent in our spending,” Marshall “It’s certainly put a little pressurse on cash flow.
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