Former LifePoint exec Sherman named CFO of HMS

HMS Holdings Corp., a major player in Medicare’s auditing space, has named Jeff Sherman CFO, effective Sept. 8.

Sherman, 48, previously was the CFO of LifePoint Hospitals, a large for-profit hospital chain based in Brentwood, Tenn., for more than four years. He resigned from LifePoint in August 2013 to become CFO of AccentCare, a private-equity backed company that provides post-acute healthcare services. He also has executive experience with Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp., another investor-owned hospital system.

Sherman now oversees the financial operations of the publicly traded HMS, which is the parent company of HealthDataInsights, or HDI. HDI is the CMS’ recovery auditor contractor for 17 states. RACs review hospitals and other providers to ensure all Medicare payments are legitimate, and they receive contingency fees from Medicare for their audits. HMS acquired HDI for $400 million in late 2011.

HMS, which also provides auditing services for other state health programs and payers, posted $40 million of profit on $491.8 million of revenue in fiscal 2013.

“The company is extremely well-positioned to capitalize on growth opportunities presented by the Affordable Care Act, while serving the heightened need of our customers to control costs and eliminate errors in an increasingly complex and challenging healthcare marketplace,” Sherman said in a statement. He replaces Walter Hosp, who resigned in June to become CFO of AMC Health, a telehealth company based in New York City.

At HMS, Sherman is earning a base salary of $500,000, and he could make up to $325,000 in annual bonuses, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He also will receive a $200,000 signing bonus and $750,000 worth of HMS stock. From 2011 to 2013, Sherman made $6.7 million at LifePoint.

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