Staffing firm failed to pay ED physicians at Lower Bucks, Roxborough, and Suburban Hospitals

A California physician staffing company was unable to pay emergency department doctors at Lower Bucks, Roxborough Memorial, and Suburban Community Hospitals and at more than 30 others nationwide last week because a change in billing services left it short of money, according to an email sent to physicians.

The staffing firm, NES Health, said it tried to bridge what it called a “temporary shortfall” with a short-term loan. “Unfortunately, the loan did not come through in time for payroll,” CEO Jose Aguirre said in an email provided to The Inquirer by a local physician.

Prime Healthcare Services Inc., based in Ontario, Calif., owns the three Philadelphia-area hospitals with NES physicians. The payroll snafu had not interrupted services as of Saturday, the Prime said.

“Our Pennsylvania hospital emergency departments are fully staffed with physicians and other clinicians prepared to care for all patients who come through our doors,” a Prime spokesperson said in an email. Prime did not respond to a question about how many NES doctors work at its hospitals.

This is not the first time ED doctors at the three Prime hospitals have worked without pay. In 2018, Prime canceled its contract with an ED staffing company, Legacy Physician Partners, after it became insolvent. Some local doctors endured a six-week gap in pay until an agreement was reached with a replacement firm, Progressive Emergency Physicians.

It’s not clear when Prime started using NES, which is based in Tiburon, Calif., and was founded by a physician in 1975. NES could not be reached for comment.

The note to physicians on Wednesday said NES is a “stable organization” in a temporary squeeze caused by a problematic transition to a new billing company in September. NES, which normally pays monthly, plans to make partial weekly payments to doctors until it can make them whole, it said.

Another physician staffing firm accused NES last month in federal court in New Mexico of not paying $86,459 in invoices for services before the billing switch. NES also faces a lawsuit in state court in Texas over an unpaid bill for $43,177, records show.