Newman Regional Health is awaiting word from the federal government on how it plans to handle provider relief funds over the past nine months as a result of coronavirus.
The government hasn’t said whether it plans to forgive those payments yet. This means hospital administrators can’t determine how much money will be available to support revenue losses from last year after it received $2.3 million.
In the meantime, Newman Regional Health closed 2020 with a $1.2 million net loss, but Chief Executive Officer Bob Wright wasn’t surprised.
Separately, Wright expects the hospital will have most of its over $10 million in Medicare advance money repaid by the middle of next year. Any remaining money, which could be around $3.5 million, would then automatically convert to a 1-percent loan.
In other COVID-related news, Wright says the hospital is looking at equipment purchases that can help patients with varying aspects of COVID-19 recovery, and the federal government may be helping that effort.
The final dollar amount isn’t set yet, but it could be in the neighborhood of $1.5 million.
