Hunter
09/04/23
As Mercy Iowa City prepares its financial statements ahead of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, officials say nearly $162 million out of the $189 million owed in patient fees may be difficult or even impossible to collect.
The Gazette reports the fees include charges to patients, insurance providers and government payers.
Part of the problem, according to Mercy, is poor implementation of an updated medical records system in March of last year that slowed coding, billing and collecting for patient services.
As a result, Mercy projects the current accounts-receivable value at about 14 ½ percent of the total amount owed them. That brings the total of property, cash and other assets of Mercy at $235.2 million.
The Gazette reports among the area businesses who are owed money by Mercy range from Oasis Falafel at just under $500 to over $100,000 to AAA Mechanical Contractors in North Liberty. Revology, a healthcare revenue cycle management firm in Iowa City , is owed over $308,000 by the hospital.
Previous reports indicate that the hospital will not be financially viable by the end of the month if the bankruptcy is not finalized. They’ve asked a judge to set the deadline for additional bids at September 19th, but a hearing to determine the timeline isn’t set to happen until the 13th.