The Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors met Wednesday and heard that the hospital’s cash supply is declining again because of delayed Medicaid reimbursements.
The hospital ended last October with over $1 million in cash on hand, which was an important milestone after the medical center nearly ran out of cash a year ago. This month, cash on hand dropped to around $700,000.
CEO Robert Rang told the board that Medicaid is not reimbursing the hospital for about $300,000 worth of claims. He said the medical center can only wait until Medicaid fixes the problem.
Chief Financial Officer Doran Hammett said the hospital’s expenses have stayed right on budget, and revenue was strong in December.
But WMC needs to replace two major pieces of lab equipment, which would cost more than $135,000.
Hammett suggested leasing to buy the equipment, and the board voted to approve that course of action. The purchases still have to be approved by the borough assembly.
Board Vice President Bernie Massin said the hospital should be saving money for big purchases that are needed in the future. One idea is to save a designated amount of money each month. Another option is to create a list of capital budget requests and work through them as money becomes available.
Rang added that the Foraker Group has not yet notified him of a decision on the application for pre-development assistance for the new hospital project.
