Slowed Medicare payments help push hospital into red

Decatur Daily Democrat:

After showing a slight financial advantage for the 2011 year, the Adams Health Network (AHN) started off 2012 in the opposite direction.

At the February meeting of the AHN Board of Trustees held Wednesday night, it was revealed that during the month of January, the hospital finished with a deficit of $254,275 after having originally been projected to have had a surplus of nearly an equal amount.

Chief Financial Officer Dane Wheeler told trustees that one item that affected the hospital's bottom line was problems experienced with a new Medicare funding program that has resulted in some Medicare payments for January not being received. He also noted there were several one-time annual payments made that enlarged the amounts paid out.