Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) reports that some rural hospitals in the state are suffering from a “Medicare billing snafu” that is “generating steep financial hardships” for the already struggling facilities.
The report says hospital leaders have been “vexed by a recent payment processing change” by CMS that is “effectively holding back millions of dollars needed to pay the bills.”
“We’re burning through the cash that we had in our bank, and we’re running out,” Andrew Knutson, CEO of Mille Lacs Health System, told MPR. He said CMS has withheld about $2.5 million in Medicare payments from his system since early January, and that if the issue can’t be resolved, the system would need to close within six to eight weeks.
MPR says CMS’ new online billing regimen is aimed at preventing improper Medicare billing, but the system is led to denial of claims for critical access hospitals.
Read much more about this significant billing issue which is impacting facilities nationwide in MPR’s full report.
