SCL Health: St. Francis Has Negative Cash Balance

An official with SCL Health says St. Francis Health Center had a negative cash balance of $51.6 million as of March 31, 2017.

What happened to the $289 million in investments reported at the beginning of the year on the 2013 tax return? I asked. Later reported as $248 million in intercompany receivables on the 2015 tax return?

“There is not like a big cash reserve,” said Brian Newsome, spokesman for SCL Health. “What you saw has been used to keep the hospital going. It didn’t leave the market.”

Newsome said a change on the balance sheet for the reporting of investments in the 2013 Form 990 was not a material change to the organization. Reporting on the tax return changed that year to be consistent with health care reporting standards, he said. Nothing material changed.

Newsome said any implication that money was taken from St. Francis and transferred to the parent company is not true. He said assets did not leave the Kansas market. Some of the hospital’s reserves were used to keep the hospital going, cover losses and expenditures on electronic medical records, pensions and debt.

 “We’ve paid off debt associated with the hospital,” he said. That is not reflected in the 2015 tax return. He said St. Francis has lost $117 million over the last five years.