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Failure to file required documentation has caused the SGMC Berrien Campus to be listed on the CMS Hospital Acquired Conditions Report

Posted on: December 17th, 2015

The Hospital Authority of Valdosta and Lowndes County, Georgia, acquired the Berrien County Hospital from private investors in April of 2013. An oversight in the transfer of documentation files associated with the issuance of a new provider number resulted in the failure to file required governmental reports after the acquisition. This failure to file a report has caused the SGMC Berrien Campus to be listed on the CMS Hospital Compare Website as one of 30 Georgia hospitals receiving a 1% Medicare reimbursement penalty because of a higher rate of Hospital Acquired Conditions (HAC). An analysis of the documentation requirements identified a failure to file a CMS exception form claiming the facility’s exemptions from the CMS HAC standard because the facility no longer offered any surgical procedures.The reimbursement penalty has been imposed because of documentation errors and not because of any hospital acquired condition reports. The failure to file the exemption application was the sole reason for the imposition of the penalty. There does not appear to be any recourse or appeal for being included on this report. The SGMC Berrien Campus anticipates a reduction of $2,915 because of being placed on the list.SGMC Chief Executive Officer Dr. Raymond A. Snead, Jr., assures the Berrien County community and the SGMC Berrien Campus Service Area that there have been no hospital acquired condition issues at the SGMC Berrien Campus since its acquisition by South Georgia Medical Center which generated the facility’s placement on the report.