Mercy Medicare decision pushed back

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services continue to investigate Mercy Hospital Springfield, meaning a decision on reimbursement will not be made today by the original deadline.

Julie Brookhart, public affairs specialist for the Kansas City regional office of CMS, this morning issued a statement to Springfield Business Journal on behalf of the government agency.

“After another survey by the state to determine if the immediate jeopardy has been removed, our federal agency and the state are in the process of determining if the hospital has successfully removed the immediate jeopardy,” the statement reads. “That decision likely will be made next week.”

The investigation was set off in the wake of the recent firings of a dozen Mercy Hospital Springfield employees over safety issues. Following the incident, Mercy implemented an interim leadership team of executives from four states that does not include Mercy Springfield Communities President Dr. Alan Scarrow.

Officials have not disclosed the exact nature of the incident that led to the firings. Mercy officials have alluded to care providers’ lack of treating “patients and visitors with dignity and compassion, even in highly tense situations.”

If Mercy Hospital Springfield’s Medicare agreement is terminated, CMS will no longer compensate the hospital for Medicare patients. The hospital then would have to submit to a readmission process to regain reimbursements. Brookhart previously said Mercy had until today to correct “condition-level deficiencies.”