The Adair County Hospital Board has received an offer to settle a bill from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services but an offer of a partnership to keep the hospital running has been taken off the table.
The news was mixed at a special called board meeting Monday. CEO Neal Gold said CMS has offered to settle claims for $2.5 million, much less than the $8 million the government says the hospital owes in recoupments. In addition, CMS said the agreement would zero the balance, meaning there would be no future unexpected bills covering the timeframe up to when the agreement is signed.
While that was good news, Gold said Dr. Eric Loy has withdrawn a proposal to develop a partnership to keep the hospital operating. Gold said it was a financial decision for Loy. Even so, Gold said there are other entities interested in Westlake and its family practice clinics. With a pending settlement with CMS, Gold said bankrupcty proceedings could begin moving forward quickly.
Read a copy of Thursday's Community Voice for a full report.
