Health Management Comments on Medicare Fiscal Year 2013 Inpatient Prospective Payment System Rule
Health Management Associates, Inc.239-598-3131Vice President of Financial Relations
today announced it has reviewed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Final Fiscal Year 2013 rule for Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) issued August 1, 2012.
Health Management owns or operates four hospitals that qualify as Medicare Dependent Hospitals (MDHs). Under the 2013 Medicare IPPS rule, Medicare will eliminate MDH payments, and MDHs will revert to a blended reimbursement rate.
Health Management believes that the elimination of the MDH designation from Health Management’s four MDH hospitals will have an insignificant impact on Health Management’s earnings for 2012.
Based on the fiscal year 2013 Medicare IPPS rule, Health Management believes that its Medicare inpatient rates will increase between 2.2% and 2.4% for the twelve month period beginning on October 1, 2012. These inpatient payments rates are prior to any sequestration reductions. On a net basis, after giving effect to anticipated sequestration reductions, Health Management believes its Medicare inpatient rates for its hospitals will increase between 0.2% and 0.4% for the twelve month period beginning on October 1, 2012.
Health Management is also affirming its diluted EPS from continuing operations objective range for the year ending December 31, 2012 to be between $0.80 and $0.90. This diluted EPS range for 2012 does not include approximately $98 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, of impact expected from interest rate swap accounting and mark-to-market adjustments nor does it include approximately $90 to $120 million of anticipated Medicare and Medicaid Healthcare Information Technology reimbursement.
Health Management enables America's best local health care by providing the people, processes, capital and expertise necessary for its hospital and physician partners to fulfill their local missions of delivering superior health care services. Health Management, through its subsidiaries, operates 70 hospitals with approximately 10,500 licensed beds in non-urban communities located throughout the United States.
All references to "Health Management," "HMA" or the "Company" used in this release refer to Health Management Associates, Inc. and its affiliates.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are identified by words such as "expects," "estimates," "projects," "anticipates," "believes," “intends,” "plans," “may,” “continues,” “should,” "could" and other similar words. All statements addressing operating performance, events or developments that Health Management Associates, Inc. expects or anticipates will occur in the future, including but not limited to anticipated effects of MDH designations, incurrence of indebtedness, projections of revenue, income or loss, capital expenditures, earnings per share, debt structure, bad debt expense, capital structure, repayment of indebtedness, the amount and timing of funds under the meaningful use measurement standard of various HCIT incentive programs, other financial items and operating statistics, statements regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations, innovations, or market service development, statements regarding acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures and other proposed or contemplated transactions (including but not limited to statements regarding the potential for future acquisitions and perceived benefits of acquisitions), statements of future economic performance, statements regarding legal proceedings and other loss contingencies, statements regarding market risk exposures, statements regarding the effects and/or interpretations of recently enacted or future health care laws and regulations, statements of the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing statements, and other statements which are other than statements of historical fact, are considered to be "forward-looking statements."
Because they are forward-looking, such statements should be evaluated in light of important risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and uncertainties are more fully described in Health Management Associates, Inc.'s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including under the heading entitled "Risk Factors." Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of Health Management Associates, Inc.'s underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could vary materially from those currently anticipated. In addition, undue reliance should not be placed on Health Management Associates, Inc.'s forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Health Management Associates, Inc. disclaims any obligation to update its risk factors or to publicly announce updates to the forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect new information, future events or other developments.