Jamestown To Investigate Involuntary Bankruptcy

The City Of Jamestown will investigate the possibility of an involuntary bankruptcy filing against Jamestown Regional Medical Center’s owner, Rennova.

Jamestown City Attorney Baley Allred shared multiple options on how the city might work to return health care to Fentress County during a Monday board of aldermen work session. The community has been without emergency care since Jamestown Regional closed in June, 2019.

Aldermen approved Allred taking the next step in understanding how the bankruptcy filing might work. He will consider he potential costs and whether the city could be one of the joint lien holders in the case. Allred will report back to the board on the costs, challenges, and protocol of such a filing at a future meeting.

Rennova Health Care shut down the hospital in June, 2019, just one year after purchasing it. The hospital closed after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it would terminate its billing agreement with the hospital. Rennova, based in West Palm Beach Florida, has come under fire for its practices and excessive debt.

Statistics show less than 1/10 of one percent of all bankruptcy cases nationwide are involuntary filings.

The board also voted to support a US Senate bill that could help spur the development of new medical facilities. Senate Bill 2411, the Rural Health Innovation Act, “amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a rural health center innovation awards program and a rural health department enhancement program, and for other purposes.”