Page 17 - South Florida Hospital News July 2021

Cover Story: Accounting Firms Key

During Pandemic and ‘New Normal’

Continued from page 1
Kramer works with individual physi- Hospitals also received Employee
cians, small and large medical practices, Retention Credits, which have been
accountable care organizations (ACOs), extended through December 31 of this
Medicare Advantage plans and home year. “Most hospitals didn’t furlough or
healthcare companies to help them find lay people off, and continued to pay their
their way through the recent regulatory employees full wages even though they
changes and resulting tax implications. were working less time,” said Pirozzi. “A
“With the pandemic, a lot of compa- number of hospitals continued to pay
nies took part in the Paycheck Protection surgeons their full wages even though
Program (PPP), which allowed business- they couldn’t operate because elective
es, including medical practices, to receive surgeries were shut down due to govern-
loans or advances from the government ment order.”
to meet operating expenses,” he In 2020, the credit was 50 percent per
explained. “We spent a lot of last year employee and was limited to the first
helping them apply for these loans and $10,000 of wages paid for a maximum
then helping them get forgiven by the 2020 ERC credit of $5,000 per employee.
government.” The ERC was substantially increased to
Some of these same businesses $7,000 per employee, per quarter, in
received Employee Retention Credits 2021 for a total potential credit of
(ERCs), which are provided by the gov- $28,000 per employee.
ernment if a business had a 20 percent or “To the government’s credit, their reac-
more reduction in revenue compared to tion was quick and the capital distribu- We’re delighted to
2019. The tax credits could be used to tion was swift and helped a tremendous
offset increased operating expenses amount of companies reposition them-
caused by the pandemic. selves,” said Pirozzi. “A lot of companies welcome
While hospitals were not able to take have come out on the other side of the
advantage of the PPP because most tunnel potentially stronger than ever.”
exceed the 500-employee limit, most, if Many medical practices, laboratories Mislen S. Bauer, M.D.
not all, participated in the Provider Relief and hospitals have introduced new serv-
Fund (PRF). ice lines, or embraced growing trends Board-certified in Pediatrics and
“The Department of Health & Human such as telehealth. “It’s a credit to entre-
Services (HHS) came to the rescue of preneurship and the brilliance of these Clinical Genetics and Metabolism
hospitals early on in the pandemic; in business owners and providers that they
March and April, billions of dollars were have been able to reinvent themselves to
given to hospitals across the country, deal with the ‘new normal,’” said Pirozzi.
based on their size and number of claims, “We’ve also seen a lot of movement
to spend on COVID-caused revenue loss with smaller medical practices merging
as well as COVID-caused expenses,” into larger practices, with some becom-
explained Pirozzi. ing owned by private equity firms,” said
“Hospitals originally had until June 30 Kramer of other emerging trends. “The
of this year, which has now been moved level of sophistication has grown, and
to December 31 and for some, into 2022, organizations have expanded into pro-
to provide an accounting to HHS of how viding different kinds of care and service
they spent the money,” he added. “But at a better level than before as a result of
the challenge is in the details—docu- increased expertise, IT infrastructure and
menting revenue loss and expenses better management.”
incurred because of COVID.” As healthcare businesses adjust to the
For example, when hospitals were ‘new normal,’ there’s no doubt that there
ordered to shut down elective surgeries will be more changes to come; having a
in mid-March for anything other than knowledgeable accounting firm can help
emergencies, they experienced huge rev- guide clients through the process. In addition to her clinical practice
enue losses. “This is in addition to having
to order protective equipment and respi- Contact: and research responsibilities,
ratory equipment, and having to bring on Alfredo Cepero, Managing Partner
more nurses, often through agencies, 305-420-8006 / acepero@bdo.com Dr. Bauer serves as Director of both
which is much more expensive,” the Neurofibromatosis Center
explained Pirozzi. Jeff Kramer, Managing Director,
Although many hospitals are tax- BDO Tax Services and the Craniofacial Center
exempt, for-profit hospitals may need 954-626-2921 / jkramer@bdo.com
assistance in determining the 2020, 2021 at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.
and even 2022 tax aspects of utilizing Angelo Pirozzi, Partner
these funds. 646-520-2870 / apirozzi@bdo.com

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