Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : FPA Medical Management - FPAMQ -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Vanni Resta who wrote (758)	6/19/1998 2:02:00 PM
From: ron forgus	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1110

FPA Medical stopped paying some doctors NEW YORK, June 19 (Reuters) - FPA Medical Management Inc. stopped paying some doctors in California, Nevada and Arizona roughly two months ago, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. FPA, a cash-strapped physician-management company, missed an interest payment of $2.6 million on its $75 million convertible subordinated debentures on Tuesday, the paper said. In March, the company said it had just $12 million in cash and would need to raise funds by June 30. If it doesn't make payment within 30 days, bondholders can demand full repayment. ''It's becoming a huge issue here,'' Elizabeth McNeil, director of medical policy and economics at the California Medical Association, the state's largest doctor group, told the Journal. Physicians are ''submitting and resubmitting bills'' to no avail, Bill Sandberg, executive director of the Sacramento-El Dorado Medical Society, is quoted as saying. Dr. Stephen Dresnick, FPA's new president and chief operating officer, acknowledged that the company doesn't have the funds to pay some doctors in some markets. FPA operates a network of 7,900 physicians who treat roughly 1.4 million people in 29 states under contracts with health-maintenance organizations. Roughly $15 million in claims are past due, of which roughly 20 percent has been suspended because of disputes or missing data, Dresnick said, adding some areas are 60 days behind in payments. FPA's monthly revenue is $120 million, according to the Journal. The company has ''a pressing need for some sort of bridge financing so we can get current with paying our physicians,'' Dresnick told the Journal.