RNVA Rennova Health Inc (CE)

RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risk factors, as well as the other information in this prospectus, including our financial statements and related notes, which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus, before deciding whether to invest in our securities. Information in this prospectus may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by reports we file with the SEC in the future. The occurrence of any of the adverse developments described in the following risk factors could materially and adversely harm our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects. In that case, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to this Offering

Our common stock is subject to substantial dilution by exercises of warrants and conversions or exercises of other securities into common stock.

The Company has outstanding options, warrants, convertible preferred stock and convertible debentures. Exercise of the options and warrants, and conversions of the convertible preferred stock and debentures could result in substantial dilution of our common stock and a decline in its market price. In addition, the terms of certain of the warrants, convertible preferred stock and convertible debentures issued by us provide for reductions in the per share exercise prices of the warrants and the per share conversion prices of the debentures and preferred stock (if applicable and subject to a floor in certain cases), in the event that we issue common stock or common stock equivalents (as that term is defined in the agreements) at an effective exercise/conversion price that is less than the then exercise/conversion prices of the outstanding warrants, preferred stock or debentures, as the case may be. These provisions, as well as the issuances of debentures and preferred stock with conversion prices that vary based upon the price of our common stock on the date of conversion, have resulted in significant dilution of our common stock and have given rise to reverse splits of our common stock.

The following table presents the dilutive effect of our various potential common shares as of December 31, 2022:

Continued conversions and exercises of the Company’s outstanding securities into common stock have further depressed the market price of our common stock and have caused corresponding decreases of the exercise and conversion prices of much of the remaining convertible securities due to their anti-dilution provisions.

The sale of a substantial amount of our common stock, including resale of the shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Warrants held by the Selling Stockholders, in the public market could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock.

Sales of substantial amounts of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales might occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock, and the market value of our other securities.

A substantial number of shares of common stock are being offered by this prospectus, and we cannot predict if and when the Selling Stockholders may sell such shares in the public markets. Furthermore, in the future, we may issue additional shares of common stock or other equity or debt securities convertible into common stock in connection with a financing, acquisition, litigation settlement, employee arrangement, or otherwise. Any such issuance could result in substantial dilution to our existing stockholders and could cause our stock price to decline.

Risks Related to the Company

The Company’s operations have historically operated at a loss and with a cash deficiency. The Company has limited access to capital and is dependent on its ability to secure the funding required to cover current losses and execute on its business plan until cash flow break even. Unless we raise sufficient funds, we will not be able to execute our business model.

For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we have relied on issuances of preferred stock, notes payable, loans from a former member of our Board of Directors, and various federal government loan and grant programs to fund our operations. We did not generate positive cash flow from operating activities for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

Cash deficiencies may make retention of employees difficult. Unless this situation is corrected we may lose employees to the point where it becomes difficult to operate, or we may fail to attract employees to positions necessary to implement our business model.

Losses incurred to date have created a need for additional capital, often at short notice, required for the Company to remain in business. If this trend were to continue and we are unable to raise sufficient capital to fund our operations through other sources, our business will be adversely affected, and we may not be able to continue as a going concern (see Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, “Liquidity and Capital Resources”). There can be no assurances that we will be able to raise sufficient funds on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all, to fund our operations under our current business model.

The holders of our Series M Convertible Preferred Stock have, in the aggregate, votes equal to 51% of the Company’s voting securities and the holders of the Series M Convertible Preferred Stock have granted an irrevocable proxy to our Chief Executive Officer.

During 2020, the Company issued its Series M Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Series M Preferred Stock”). Regardless of the number of shares of Series M Preferred Stock outstanding and so long as at least one share of Series M Preferred Stock is outstanding, the outstanding shares of Series M Preferred Stock shall have the number of votes, in the aggregate, equal to 51% of all votes entitled to be voted at any meeting of stockholders or action by written consent. This means that the holders of Series M Preferred Stock have sufficient votes, by themselves, to approve or defeat any proposal voted on by the Company’s stockholders, unless there is a supermajority required under applicable law or by agreement. Holders of our common stock, therefore, will not have any control on issues submitted to a vote of stockholders.

Mr. Diamantis owns all of the outstanding Series M Preferred Stock. On August 13, 2020, he granted an irrevocable proxy to vote the Series M Preferred Stock to Seamus Lagan, the Chief Executive Officer, President and Interim Chief Financial Officer of the Company. As a result, Mr. Lagan controls a majority of the voting securities of the Company.

Our holding company structure makes us dependent on our subsidiaries for our cash flow and could serve to subordinate the rights of our shareholders to the rights of creditors of our subsidiaries, in the event of an insolvency or liquidation of any such subsidiary.

Our Company acts as a holding company and, accordingly, substantially all of our operations are conducted through our subsidiaries. Such subsidiaries are separate and distinct legal entities. As a result, substantially all of our cash flow depends upon the earnings of our subsidiaries. In addition, we depend on the distribution of earnings, loans or other payment by our subsidiaries. No subsidiary will have any obligation to provide our Company with funds for our payment obligations. If there is an insolvency, liquidation or other reorganization of any of our subsidiaries, our shareholders will have no right to proceed against their assets. Creditors of those subsidiaries will be entitled to payment in full for the sale or other disposal of the assets of those subsidiaries before our Company, as a shareholder, would be entitled to receive any distribution from that sale or disposal.

The effects of the coronavirus pandemic have had, and may continue to have, a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Demand for services at our hospitals was substantially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. If the pandemic continues for a further extended period, we would expect to incur lower net revenues and incur significant losses. Accordingly, additional financial assistance may be required.

The coronavirus pandemic and the steps taken by governments to seek to reduce its spread have severely impacted the economy and the health care industry in particular. Hospitals have especially been affected. Small rural hospitals, such as ours, may be overwhelmed by patients if conditions worsen in their local areas. Staffing costs, and concerns due to the potential exposure to infections, may increase, as may the costs of needed medical supplies necessary to keep the hospitals open. Doctors and patients may defer elective procedures and other health care services. Travel bans, social distancing and quarantines may limit access to our facilities. Business closings and layoffs in our local areas may result in the loss of insurance and adversely affect demand for our services, as well as the ability of patients and other payers to pay for services as rendered.

Although our financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, we have accumulated significant losses and have negative cash flows from operations that could adversely affect our ability to refinance existing indebtedness or raise additional capital to fund our operations or limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry which raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

If we are unable to improve our liquidity position we may not be able to continue as a going concern. The consolidated financial statements incorporated by reference in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result if we are unable to continue as a going concern and, therefore, be required to realize our assets and discharge our liabilities other than in the normal course of business, which could cause investors to suffer the loss of all or a substantial portion of their investment.

We have accumulated significant losses and have negative cash flows from operations, and at December 31, 2022, we had a working capital deficit and stockholders’ deficit of $42.9 million and $29.1 million, respectively. In addition, we incurred a loss from continuing operations of $3.3 million and $5.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and we used cash of $0.2 million and $8.9 million to fund our operations during 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our cash position ($0.5 million at December 31, 2022) is critically deficient, and payments for our operations are not being made in the ordinary course of business. The continued losses and other related factors, including past due accounts payable and payroll taxes as well as payment defaults of certain outstanding debentures and notes payable, as more fully discussed in Notes 1, 7 and 8 to the consolidated financial statements incorporated by reference in this prospectus, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for the next 12 months.

The Company’s core business plan is to own and operate rural hospitals and other related healthcare service facilities, which is a specialized marketplace with a requirement for capable and knowledgeable management. The Company’s current financial condition may make it difficult to attract and maintain adequate expertise in its management team to successfully operate the Company’s hospitals.

There can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve our business plan, which is to acquire and operate clusters of rural hospitals and related assets, raise any additional capital or secure the additional financing necessary to implement our current operating plan. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our ability to raise adequate capital to fund our operations and repay our outstanding debentures and other past due obligations, fully align our operating costs, increase our net revenues and eventually gain profitable operations. The consolidated financial statements incorporated by reference in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might be necessary if we are unable to continue as a going concern.

The Company sold several of its subsidiaries to InnovaQor and has a current convertible preferred stock investment in and note receivable with InnovaQor. An inability to monetize its convertible preferred stock investment and/or receive cash proceeds in connection with repayment of the note receivable could have a material adverse effect on the Company.

In June 2021, the Company sold several of its information technology related subsidiaries to InnovaQor for 14,950 shares of InnovaQor Series B-1 Preferred Stock. In addition, the Company has provided loans/advances to InnovaQor to fund its working capital needs; such loans were restructured on December 31, 2022 into a note receivable in the amount of $1.5 million. The Company has provided additional funds to InnovaQor since December 31, 2022 and expects to continue to do so until InnovaQor raises third-party capital. Modest liquidity in InnovaQor’s common stock continues to affect the prospects for monetization of the Company’s preferred stock investment. Also, any delay in InnovaQor’s ability to raise third-party capital may affect the timing of repayment of the note receivable, the liquidity of its common stock and the need for continued funding of InnovaQor by the Company. The Company and InnovaQor may seek to restructure the terms of the note receivable in the future. All such factors could have a material adverse effect on the Company.

The InnovaQor Series B-1 Preferred Stock and the note receivable represent a significant portion of the Company’s assets. There is no assurance that InnovaQor will be able to continue as a going concern. If that were not to happen it would have a material adverse effect on the Company.

Our results of operations may be adversely affected if the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) is repealed, replaced or otherwise changed.

The ACA has increased the number of people with health care insurance. It also has reduced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. Numerous proposals continue to be discussed to repeal, amend or replace the law. We cannot predict whether any such repeal, amend or replace proposals, or any parts of them, will become law and, if they do, what their substance or timing will be. There is uncertainty whether, when and how the ACA may be changed, what alternative provisions, if any, will be enacted, the timing of enactment and implementation of any alternative provisions and the impact of any alternative provisions on providers as well as other healthcare industry participants. Efforts to repeal or change the ACA or implement other initiatives intended to reform healthcare delivery and financial systems may have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

We may have a limited ability to use some or all of our net operating loss carryforwards in the future.

Under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, substantial changes in our ownership may limit the amount of net operating loss carryforwards that could be utilized annually in the future to offset our taxable income. Specifically, this limitation may arise in the event of a cumulative change in ownership of the Company of more than 50% within a three-year period. Any such annual limitation may significantly reduce the utilization of our net operating loss carryforwards before they expire. The Company has federal net operating loss carryforwards totaling approximately $73.6 million generated since 2016. It also has various state net operating loss carryforwards that begin to expire in 2032. Transactions that may occur in the future may trigger an ownership change pursuant to Section 382, and prior transactions may be deemed to have triggered an ownership change pursuant to Section 382, the result of which could limit the amount of net operating loss carryforwards that we can utilize annually to offset our taxable income, if any. The Company is reviewing whether any prior transaction may have triggered a limitation under Section 382. Any such limitation, whether as a result of a prior transaction or a transaction in the future, could have a material adverse effect on our future results of operations.

General economic conditions.

Much healthcare spending is discretionary and can be significantly impacted by economic downturns. When patients are experiencing personal financial difficulties or have concerns about general economic conditions, they may choose to defer or forego elective surgeries and other non-emergent procedures, which are generally more profitable lines of business for hospitals. In addition, employers may impose or patients may select a high-deductible insurance plan or no insurance at all, which increases a hospital’s dependence on self-pay revenue. Moreover, a greater number of uninsured patients may seek care in our emergency rooms.

We are unable to quantify the specific impact of current or recent economic conditions on our business, however, we believe that the economic conditions in the service areas in which our hospitals operate may have an adverse impact on our operations. Such impact can be expected to continue to affect not only the healthcare decisions of our patients and potential patients but could also have an adverse impact on the solvency of certain managed care providers and other counterparties to transactions with us.

Healthcare plans have taken steps to control the utilization and reimbursement of healthcare services.

We also face efforts by non-governmental third-party payers, including healthcare plans, to reduce utilization and reimbursement for healthcare services.

The healthcare industry has experienced a trend of consolidation among healthcare insurance plans and payers, resulting in fewer but larger insurance plans with significant bargaining power to negotiate fee arrangements with healthcare providers. These healthcare plans, and independent physician associations, may demand that providers accept discounted fee structures or assume all or a portion of the financial risk associated with providing services to their members through capped payment arrangements. There are also an increasing number of patients enrolling in consumer driven products and high deductible plans that involve greater patient cost-sharing.

The increased consolidation among healthcare plans and payers increases the potential adverse impact of not being, or ceasing to be, a contracted provider with any such insurer. The ACA includes provisions, including ones regarding the creation of healthcare exchanges, which may encourage healthcare insurance plans to increase exclusive contracting.

We expect continuing efforts to reduce reimbursements, to impose more stringent cost controls and to reduce utilization of services. These efforts, including future changes in third-party payer rules, practices and policies or ceasing to be a contracted provider to many healthcare plans, have had and may continue to have a material adverse effect on our business.

Some of our operations are subject to federal and state laws prohibiting “kickbacks” and other laws designed to prohibit payments for referrals and eliminate healthcare fraud.

Federal and state anti-kickback and similar laws prohibit payment, or offers of payment, in exchange for referrals of products and services for which reimbursement may be made by Medicare or other federal and state healthcare programs. Some state laws contain similar prohibitions that apply without regard to the payer of reimbursement for the services. Under a federal statute, known as the “Stark Law” or “self-referral” prohibition, physicians, subject to certain exceptions, are prohibited from referring their Medicare or Medicaid program patients to providers with which the physicians or their immediate family members have a financial relationship, and the providers are prohibited from billing for services rendered in violation of Stark Law referral prohibitions. Violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Law and Stark Law may be punished by civil and criminal penalties, and/or exclusion from participation in federal health care programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. States may impose similar penalties. The ACA significantly strengthened provisions of the Federal False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Law provisions, and other health care fraud provisions, leading to the possibility of greatly increased qui tam suits by private citizen “relators” for perceived violations of these laws. There can be no assurance that our activities will not come under the scrutiny of regulators and other government authorities or that our practices will not be found to violate applicable laws, rules and regulations or prompt lawsuits by private citizen relators under federal or state false claims laws. A qui tam lawsuit has been filed against the Company alleging violations of the False Claims Act. See “Legal Proceedings”.

Federal officials responsible for administering and enforcing the healthcare laws and regulations have made a priority of eliminating healthcare fraud. For example, the ACA includes significant new fraud and abuse measures, including required disclosures of financial arrangements with physician customers, lower thresholds for violations and increased potential penalties for violations. Federal funding available for combating health care fraud and abuse generally has increased. While we seek to conduct our business in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, many of the laws and regulations applicable to our business, particularly those relating to billing and reimbursement of services and those relating to relationships with physicians, hospitals and patients, contain language that has not been interpreted by courts. We must rely on our interpretation of these laws and regulations based on the advice of our counsel and regulatory or law enforcement authorities may not agree with our interpretation of these laws and regulations and may seek to enforce legal remedies or penalties against us for violations.

From time to time we may need to change our operations, particularly pricing or billing practices, in response to changing interpretations of these laws and regulations, or regulatory or judicial determinations with respect to these laws and regulations. These occurrences, regardless of their outcome, could damage our reputation and harm important business relationships that we have with healthcare providers, payers and others. Furthermore, if a regulatory or judicial authority finds that we have not complied with applicable laws and regulations, we would be required to refund amounts that were billed and collected in violation of such laws and regulations. In addition, we may voluntarily refund amounts that were alleged to have been billed and collected in violation of applicable laws and regulations. In either case, we could suffer civil and criminal damages, fines and penalties, exclusion from participation in governmental healthcare programs and the loss of licenses, certificates and authorizations necessary to operate our business, as well as incur liabilities from third-party claims, all of which could harm our operating results and financial condition.

Moreover, regardless of the outcome, if we or physicians or other third parties with whom we do business are investigated by a regulatory or law enforcement authority we could incur substantial costs, including legal fees, and our management may be required to divert a substantial amount of time to an investigation.

To enhance compliance with applicable health care laws, and mitigate potential liability in the event of noncompliance, regulatory authorities, such as the OIG, have recommended the adoption and implementation of a comprehensive health care compliance program that generally contains the elements of an effective compliance and ethics program described in Section 8B2.1 of the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines Manual, and for many years the OIG has made available a model compliance program. In addition, certain states require that health care providers that engage in substantial business under the state Medicaid program have a compliance program that generally adheres to the standards set forth in the Model Compliance Program. Also, under the ACA, HHS will require suppliers, such as the Company, to adopt, as a condition of Medicare participation, compliance programs that meet a core set of requirements. While we have adopted, or are in the process of adopting, healthcare compliance and ethics programs that generally incorporate the OIG’s recommendations, and training our applicable employees in such compliance, having such a program can be no assurance that we will avoid any compliance issues.

We conduct our business in a heavily regulated industry and changes in regulations or violations of regulations could, directly or indirectly, harm our operating results and financial condition.

The healthcare industry is highly regulated and there can be no assurance that the regulatory environment in which we operate will not change significantly and adversely in the future. Areas of the regulatory environment that may affect our ability to conduct business include, without limitation:

These laws and regulations are extremely complex and in many instances, there are no significant regulatory or judicial interpretations of these laws and regulations. Any determination that we have violated these laws or regulations, or the public announcement that we are being investigated for possible violations of these laws or regulations, could harm our operating results and financial condition. In addition, a significant change in any of these laws or regulations may require us to change our business model in order to maintain compliance with these laws or regulations, which could harm our operating results and financial condition.

Failure to comply with complex federal and state laws and regulations related to submission of claims for services can result in significant monetary damages and penalties and exclusion from the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

We are subject to extensive federal and state laws and regulations relating to the submission of claims for payment for services, including those that relate to coverage of our services under Medicare, Medicaid and other governmental health care programs, the amounts that may be billed for our services and to whom claims for services may be submitted.

Our failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could result in our inability to receive payment for our services or result in attempts by third-party payers, such as Medicare and Medicaid, to recover payments from us that have already been made. Submission of claims in violation of certain statutory or regulatory requirements can result in penalties, including substantial civil money penalties for each item or service billed to Medicare in violation of the legal requirement, and exclusion from participation in Medicare and Medicaid. Government authorities may also assert that violations of laws and regulations related to submission or causing the submission of claims violate the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”) or other laws related to fraud and abuse, including submission of claims for services that were not medically necessary. Violations of the FCA could result in enormous economic liability. The FCA provides that all damages are trebled. For example, we could be subject to FCA liability if it was determined that the services we provided were not medically necessary and not reimbursable, particularly if it were asserted that we contributed to the physician’s referrals of unnecessary services to us. It is also possible that the government could attempt to hold us liable under fraud and abuse laws for improper claims submitted by an entity for services that we performed if we were found to have knowingly participated in the arrangement that resulted in submission of the improper claims.

Our facilities are subject to potential claims for professional liability, including existing or potential claims based on the acts or omissions of third parties, which claims may not be covered by insurance.

Our facilities are subject to potential claims for professional liability (medical malpractice) in connection with their operations, as well as potentially acquired or discontinued operations. To cover such claims, professional malpractice liability insurance and general liability insurance are maintained in amounts believed to be sufficient for operations, although some claims may exceed the scope or amount of the coverage in effect. The assertion of a significant number of claims, either within a self-insured retention (deductible) or individually or in the aggregate in excess of available insurance, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Premiums for professional liability insurance have historically been volatile and we cannot assure you that professional liability insurance will continue to be available on terms acceptable to us, if at all. The operations of hospitals also depend on the professional services of physicians and other trained healthcare providers and technicians in the conduct of their respective operations, including independent laboratories and physicians rendering diagnostic and medical services. There can be no assurance that any legal action stemming from the act or omission of a third-party provider of healthcare services would not be brought against one of our hospitals, resulting in significant legal expenses in order to defend against such legal action or to obtain a financial contribution from the third party whose acts or omissions occasioned the legal action.

Our success depends on our ability to attract and retain qualified healthcare professionals. A shortage of qualified healthcare professionals could weaken our ability to deliver healthcare services.

Our operations are dependent on the efforts, ability and experience of healthcare professionals, such as physicians, nurses, therapists, pharmacists and lab technicians. Each facility’s success has been, and will continue to be, influenced by its ability to attract and retain these skilled employees. A shortage of healthcare professionals, the loss of some or all of its key employees or the inability to attract or retain sufficient numbers of qualified healthcare professionals could cause the operating performance of one or more of our facilities to decline.

A significant portion of our net revenues is dependent on Medicare and Medicaid payments and possible reductions in Medicare or Medicaid payments or the implementation of other measures to reduce reimbursements may reduce our revenues.

A significant portion of our net revenues is derived from the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which are highly regulated and subject to frequent and substantial changes. Previous legislative changes have resulted in, and future legislative changes may result in, limitations on and reduced levels of payment and reimbursement for a substantial portion of hospital procedures and costs.

Future healthcare legislation or other changes in the administration or interpretation of governmental healthcare programs may have a material adverse effect on our consolidated business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.

Failure to timely or accurately bill for our services could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Billing for medical services is extremely complicated and is subject to extensive and non-uniform rules and administrative requirements. Depending on the billing arrangement and applicable law, we bill various payers, such as patients, insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid, physicians, hospitals and employer groups. Changes in laws and regulations could increase the complexity and cost of our billing process. Additionally, auditing for compliance with applicable laws and regulations as well as internal compliance policies and procedures adds further cost and complexity to the billing process.

Missing, incomplete, or incorrect information adds complexity to and slows the billing process, creates backlogs of unbilled services, and generally increases the aging of accounts receivable and bad debt expense. Failure to timely or correctly bill may lead to our not being reimbursed for our services or an increase in the aging of our accounts receivable, which could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows. Failure to comply with applicable laws relating to billing or even having to pay back amounts incorrectly billed and collected could lead to various penalties, including: (1) exclusion from participation in CMS and other government programs; (2) asset forfeitures; (3) civil and criminal fines and penalties; and (4) the loss of various licenses, certificates and authorizations necessary to operate our business, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or cash flows.

There have been times when our accounts receivable have increased at a greater rate than revenue growth and, therefore, have adversely affected our cash flows from operations. We have taken steps to implement systems and processing changes intended to improve billing procedures and related collection results. However, we cannot assure that our ongoing assessment of accounts receivable will not result in the need for additional provisions. Such additional provisions, if implemented, could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

Our operations may be adversely impacted by the effects of extreme weather conditions, natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes, hostilities or acts of terrorism and other criminal activities.

Our operations are always subject to adverse impacts resulting from extreme weather conditions, natural disasters, hostilities or acts of terrorism or other criminal activities. Such events may result in a temporary decline in the number of patients who seek our services or in our employees’ ability to perform their job duties. In addition, such events may temporarily interrupt our ability to provide our services. The occurrence of any such event and/or a disruption of our operations as a result may adversely affect our results of operations.

Increased competition, including price competition, could have a material adverse impact on our net revenues and profitability.

We operate in a business that is characterized by intense competition. Our major competitors include large national hospitals that possess greater name recognition, larger customer bases, and significantly greater financial resources and employ substantially more personnel than we do. Many of our competitors have long established relationships. Although our hospitals operate in communities where they are currently the only general acute care hospital, they face substantial competition from other hospitals in their respective regions. Although these competing hospitals may be many miles away, patients in these markets may travel to these competing hospitals as a result of local physician referrals, managed care plan incentives or personal choices. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully with such entities in the future.

The healthcare business is intensely competitive both in terms of price and service. Pricing of services is often one of the most significant factors used by patients, health care providers and third-party payers in selecting a provider. As a result of the healthcare industry undergoing significant consolidation, larger providers are able to increase cost efficiencies. This consolidation results in greater price competition. We may be unable to increase cost efficiencies sufficiently, if at all, and as a result, our net earnings and cash flows could be negatively impacted by such price competition. We may also face competition from companies that do not comply with existing laws or regulations or otherwise disregard compliance standards in the industry. Additionally, we may also face changes in fee schedules, competitive bidding for services or other actions or pressures reducing payment schedules as a result of increased or additional competition. Additional competition, including price competition, could have a material adverse impact on our net revenues and profitability.

Continued supply chain shortages could increase our costs of operations or adversely affect our results of operations.

Shortages, delays, increased costs, and governmental restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic or arising out of increased demand as the pandemic wanes have disrupted and may continue to disrupt the ability of our facilities to procure items used in their operations. A severe inability to obtain such items or substantially increased costs for the items could have an adverse effect on our results of operations if we are unable to pass such costs along to patients.

Sustained inflation could increase our costs of operations.

The healthcare industry is very labor intensive and salaries and benefits are subject to inflationary pressures, as are supply and other costs. In particular, like others in the healthcare industry, we continue to experience a shortage of nurses and other clinical staff and support personnel, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are treating patients with COVID-19 in our facilities and, in some areas, the increased demand for care is putting a strain on our resources and staff, which has required us to utilize higher-cost temporary labor and pay premiums above standard compensation for essential workers. The length and extent of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are currently unknown; however, we expect such disruptions to continue. This staffing shortage may require us to further enhance wages and benefits to recruit and retain nurses and other clinical staff and support personnel or require us to hire expensive temporary personnel. Furthermore, we are unable to predict whether recent inflationary spikes, which were initially thought to be transitory and due to pandemic recovery related demand, labor shortages in selected markets, and supply chain issues will continue for an extended period of time. Substantially increased costs of personnel, goods, and services could have an adverse effect on our results of operations if we are unable to pass such costs along to patients. The concentration of our patients in persons for whom the cost of treatment is paid for under government programs could substantially limit our ability to pass through such costs.

Failure to maintain the security of patient-related information or compliance with security requirements could damage the Company’s reputation with patients and cause it to incur substantial additional costs and to become subject to litigation.

Pursuant to HIPAA and certain similar state laws, we must comply with comprehensive privacy and security standards with respect to the use and disclosure of protected health information. Under the HITECH amendments to HIPAA, HIPAA was expanded to require certain data breach notifications, to extend certain HIPAA privacy and security standards directly to business associates, to heighten penalties for noncompliance and to enhance enforcement efforts. If the Company does not comply with existing or new laws and regulations relating to protecting the privacy and security of personal or health information, it could be subject to monetary fines, civil penalties or criminal sanctions.

The Company receives certain personal and financial information about its patients. In addition, the Company depends upon the secure transmission of confidential information over public networks, including information permitting cashless payments. While we take reasonable and prudent steps to protect this information, a compromise in the Company’s security systems that results in patient personal information being obtained by unauthorized persons or the Company’s failure to comply with security requirements for financial transactions could adversely affect the Company’s reputation with its customers and others, as well as the Company’s results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. It could also result in litigation against the Company or the imposition of penalties.

Failure of the Company to comply with emerging electronic transmission standards could adversely affect our business.

The failure of our IT systems to keep pace with technological advances may significantly reduce our revenues or increase our expenses. Public and private initiatives to create healthcare information technology (“HCIT”) standards and to mandate standardized clinical coding systems for the electronic exchange of clinical information could require costly modifications to our existing HCIT systems. While we do not expect HCIT standards to be adopted or implemented without adequate time to comply, if we fail to adopt or delay in implementing HCIT standards, we could lose customers and business opportunities.

Compliance with the HIPAA security regulations and privacy regulations may increase the Company’s costs.

The HIPAA privacy and security regulations, including the expanded requirements under HITECH, establish comprehensive federal standards with respect to the use and disclosure of protected health information by health plans, healthcare providers and healthcare clearinghouses, in addition to setting standards to protect the confidentiality, integrity and security of protected health information. The regulations establish a complex regulatory framework on a variety of subjects, including:

The Company has implemented policies and procedures related to compliance with the HIPAA privacy and security regulations, as required by law. The privacy and security regulations establish a “floor” and do not supersede state laws that are more stringent. Therefore, the Company is required to comply with both federal privacy and security regulations and varying state privacy and security laws. In addition, for healthcare data transfers from other countries relating to citizens of those countries, the Company may also be required to comply with the laws of those other countries. The federal privacy regulations restrict the Company’s ability to use or disclose patient identifiable data, without patient authorization, for purposes other than payment, treatment or healthcare operations (as defined by HIPAA), except for disclosures for various public policy purposes and other permitted purposes outlined in the privacy regulations. HIPAA, as amended by HITECH, provides for significant fines and other penalties for wrongful use or disclosure of protected health information in violation of the privacy and security regulations, including potential civil and criminal fines and penalties. Due to the enactment of HITECH and an increase in the amount of monetary financial penalties, government enforcement has also increased. It is not possible to predict what the extent of the impact on business will be, other than heightened scrutiny and emphasis on compliance. If the Company does not comply with existing or new laws and regulations related to protecting the privacy and security of health information it could be subject to significant monetary fines, civil penalties or criminal sanctions. In addition, other federal and state laws that protect the privacy and security of patient information may be subject to enforcement and interpretations by various governmental authorities and courts resulting in complex compliance issues. For example, the Company could incur damages under state laws pursuant to an action brought by a private party for the wrongful use or disclosure of confidential health information or other private personal information.

Health care reform and related programs (e.g. Health Insurance Exchanges), changes in government payment and reimbursement systems, or changes in payer mix, including an increase in capitated reimbursement mechanisms and evolving delivery models, could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s net revenues, profitability and cash flow.

Our services are billed to private patients, Medicare, Medicaid, commercial clients, managed care organizations (“MCOs”) and third-party insurance companies. Bills may be sent to different payers depending on the medical insurance benefits of a particular patient. Increases in the percentage of services billed to government and managed care payers could have an adverse impact on the Company’s net revenues.

A portion of the third-party insurance fee-for-service revenues are collectible from patients in the form of deductibles, copayments and coinsurance. As patient cost-sharing increases, collectability may be impacted.

In addition, Medicare and Medicaid and private insurers have increased their efforts to control the cost, utilization and delivery of health care services. Measures to regulate health care delivery have resulted in reduced prices, added costs and decreased utilization as well as increased complexity and new regulatory and administrative requirements. Changes to, or repeal of, the ACA, the health care reform legislation passed in 2010, also may continue to affect coverage, reimbursement and utilization of services, as well as administrative requirements, in ways that are currently unpredictable.

The Company expects efforts to impose reduced reimbursement, more stringent payment policies and utilization and cost controls by government and other payers to continue. If the Company cannot offset additional reductions in the payments it receives for its services by reducing costs, increasing the number of patients treated and/or introducing new procedures, it could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s net revenues, profitability and cash flows.

As an employer, health care reform legislation also contains numerous regulations that will require the Company to implement significant process and record keeping changes to be in compliance. These changes increase the cost of providing healthcare coverage to employees and their families. Given the limited release of regulations to guide compliance, as well as potential changes to or repeal of the ACA, the exact impact to employers including the Company is uncertain.

Adverse results in material litigation matters or governmental inquiries could have a material adverse effect upon the Company’s business and financial condition.

The Company may become subject in the ordinary course of business to material legal action related to, among other things, professional liability, contracts and employee-related matters, as well as inquiries and requests for information from governmental agencies and bodies and Medicare or Medicaid payors requesting comment and/or information on allegations of billing irregularities, billing and pricing arrangements, privacy practices and other matters that are brought to their attention through billing audits or third parties. The healthcare industry is subject to substantial Federal and state government regulation and audit. Legal actions could result in substantial monetary damages as well as damage to the Company’s reputation with customers, which could have a material adverse effect upon its business.

As a company with limited capital and human resources, we anticipate that more of management’s time and attention will be diverted from our business to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements than would be the case with a company that has well established controls and procedures. This diversion of management’s time and attention may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In the event we identify significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting that we cannot remediate in a timely manner, or if we are unable to receive a positive attestation from our independent registered public accounting firm with respect to our internal control over financial reporting when we are required to do so, investors and others may lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements. If this occurs, the trading price of our common stock, if any, and ability to obtain any necessary equity or debt financing could suffer. Presently, our auditors are not required to audit internal controls over financial reporting. However, if in the future such a requirement arises, and in the event that our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to rely on our internal control over financial reporting in connection with its audit of our financial statements, and in the further event that it is unable to devise alternative procedures in order to satisfy itself as to the material accuracy of our financial statements and related disclosures, we may be unable to file our periodic reports with the SEC. This would likely have an adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock, if any, and our ability to secure any necessary additional financing, and could result in the delisting of our common stock. In such event, the liquidity of our common stock would be severely limited and the market price of our common stock would likely decline significantly.

An inability to attract and retain experienced and qualified personnel could adversely affect the Company’s business.

The loss of key management personnel or the inability to attract and retain experienced and qualified employees by the Company could adversely affect the business. The success of the Company is dependent in part on the efforts of key members of its management team.

Failure in the Company’s information technology systems or delays or failures in the development and implementation of updates or enhancements to those systems could significantly delay billing and otherwise disrupt the Company’s operations or patient relationships.

The Company’s business and patient relationships depend, in part, on the continued performance of its information technology systems. Despite network security measures and other precautions, the Company’s information technology systems are potentially vulnerable to physical or electronic break-ins, computer viruses and similar disruptions. Sustained system failures or interruption of the Company’s systems in one or more of its operations could disrupt the Company’s ability to conduct its business. Breaches with respect to protected health information could result in violations of HIPAA and analogous state laws, and risk the imposition of significant fines and penalties. Failure of the Company’s information technology systems could adversely affect the Company’s business, profitability and financial condition.

Increasing health insurance premiums and co-payments or high deductible health plans may cause individuals to forgo health insurance and avoid medical attention, either of which may reduce demand for our products and services.

Health insurance premiums, co-payments and deductibles have generally increased in recent years. These increases may cause individuals to forgo health insurance, as well as medical attention. This behavior may reduce demand for services at our hospitals.

Our business has substantial indebtedness; the majority of our debt instruments are in payment default and contain restrictive covenants which may affect our operational and financial flexibility.

We currently have, and will likely continue to have, a substantial amount of indebtedness. Our indebtedness could, among other things, make it more difficult for us to satisfy our debt and other obligations, require us to use a large portion of our cash flow from operations to repay and service our debt or otherwise create liquidity problems, limit our flexibility to adjust to market conditions and place us at a competitive disadvantage. Restrictive covenants in the agreements governing our indebtedness may adversely affect us. As of December 31, 2022, we had total debt outstanding of approximately $14.5 million, all of which is short term and the majority of which is past due. As a result of non-payments of debt, included in outstanding debentures at both December 31, 2022 and 2021, were default payment penalties of $1.9 million and we have incurred penalty interest on outstanding debentures and notes payable of approximately $1.8 million and $2.6 million during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Our ability to meet our obligations depends on our future performance and capital raising activities, which will be affected by financial, business, economic and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. If our cash flow and capital resources prove inadequate to allow us to pay the principal and interest on our debt and meet our other obligations, we could face substantial liquidity problems and might be required to dispose of material assets or operations, restructure or refinance our debt, which we may be unable to do on acceptable terms, and forego attractive business opportunities. In addition, the terms of our existing or future debt agreements may restrict us from pursuing any of these alternatives.

Failure to achieve and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting may result in our not being able to accurately report our financial results. As a result, current and potential shareholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our common stock.

Our management has determined that as of December 31, 2022, we did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting based on criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework as a result of material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. If the results of our remediation efforts regarding our material weaknesses are not successful, or if additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies are identified in our internal control over financial reporting, our management will be unable to report favorably as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and/or our disclosure controls and procedures, and we could be required to further implement expensive and time-consuming remedial measures and potentially lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which could have an adverse effect on our stock price and potentially subject us to litigation.

Provisions of Delaware law and our organizational documents may discourage takeovers and business combinations that our stockholders may consider in their best interests, which could negatively affect our stock price.

Provisions of Delaware law and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of the Company or deterring tender offers for our common stock that other stockholders may consider in their best interests.

Our certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more different series with terms to be fixed by our Board of Directors. Stockholder approval is not necessary to issue preferred stock in this manner. Issuance of these shares of preferred stock could have the effect of making it more difficult and more expensive for a person or group to acquire control of us, and could effectively be used as an anti-takeover device.

Our bylaws provide for an advance notice procedure for stockholders to nominate director candidates for election or to bring business before an annual meeting of stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to our Board of Directors, and require that special meetings of stockholders be called only by our chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president or the board pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the board.

The anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law and provisions in our organizational documents may prevent our stockholders from receiving the benefit from any premium to the market price of our common stock offered by a bidder in a takeover context. Even in the absence of a takeover attempt, the existence of these provisions may adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock if they are viewed as discouraging takeover attempts in the future.

As a public company, we incur significant administrative workload and expenses.

As a public company, we must comply with various laws, regulations and requirements, including certain provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as rules implemented by the SEC. Complying with these statutes, regulations and requirements, including our public company reporting requirements, continues to occupy a significant amount of the time of our Board of Directors and management and involves significant accounting, legal and other expenses. We may need to hire additional accounting personnel to handle these responsibilities, which will increase our operating costs. Furthermore, these laws, regulations and requirements could make it more difficult or more costly for us to obtain certain types of insurance. The impact of these requirements could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our Board of Directors, our board committees or as executive officers.

New laws and regulations as well as changes to existing laws and regulations affecting public companies, including the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and rules adopted by the SEC, would likely result in increased costs to us as we respond to their requirements. We are investing resources to comply with evolving laws and regulations, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.

We do not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock and certain of our financing agreements, while outstanding, prohibit us from declaring or paying cash dividends without approval, which may not be granted. In addition, we anticipate that we will retain our earnings, if any, for future growth and therefore do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The terms of certain series of our Preferred Stock also preclude the payment of cash dividends on our common stock unless dividends are paid on such Preferred Stock. Accordingly, our stockholders will not realize a return on their investment unless the trading price of our common stock appreciates, which is uncertain and unpredictable.

We have used our convertible preferred stock for the exchange/repayment of debt and to raise capital. Going forward, we may use our stock to pay, to a large extent, for future acquisitions or we may continue to use our stock for the exchange/repayment of debt and to raise capital, which has been and would continue to be dilutive to investors.

In the past we have used our convertible preferred stock for the exchange/repayment of debt and to raise capital, which as a result of the conversions of the preferred stock into a variable number of shares of our common stock, has resulted in significant dilution of our common stock. Going forward, we may choose to use additional preferred or common stock to pay, to a large extent, for future acquisitions or for additional exchanges/repayments of debt and to raise capital, and believe that doing so will enable us to retain a greater percentage of our cash flows to fund operations and to obtain cash to fund our operations. Price fluctuations in our stock might negatively impact our ability to effectively use our stock to pay for acquisitions, or could cause us to offer stock as consideration for acquisitions on terms that are not favorable to us and our stockholders. If we issued shares of our convertible preferred stock or our common stock in lieu of cash as consideration for acquisitions or in exchange/repayment of debt or to raise capital under unfavorable circumstances, it may result in significant dilution to investors.

Our operations are dependent on the local economies and the surrounding areas in which they operate and are concentrated in Tennessee. A significant deterioration in those economies could cause a material adverse effect on our hospitals’ businesses.

Each rural hospital operation is dependent upon the local economy where it is located. A significant deterioration in that economy would negatively impact the demand for the facility’s services, as well as the ability of patients and other payers to pay for service as rendered.

Our revenues are particularly sensitive to regulatory and economic changes in the State of Tennessee. Any change in the current demographic, economic, competitive or regulatory conditions in the state could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Changes to the Medicaid program or other health care laws or regulations in that state could also have an adverse effect.