Manatee Memorial Hospital to be ‘at risk’ due to pay cut

— Manatee Memorial Hospital will operate at a “risk level” this year if Manatee County government refuses to give the hospital a raise in the coming year for the health care it provides free to uninsured Manatee residents.

Kevin DiLallo, chief executive officer of Manatee Healthcare System, which includes Manatee Memorial and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, implored Manatee County commissioners Tuesday to add $500,000 to the $3.2 million commissioners approved Tuesday to give the hospital for year-long service to eligible uninsured residents.

“Three million puts me at a risk level where I am not even covering even half of my costs on this,” DiLallo told commissioners.

DiLallo said that three years ago the hospital received $6.9 million in reimbursement from the county and even that amount didn’t cover costs.

DiLallo asked commissioners to consider taking $500,000 out of reserves in the indigent care portion of the county’s medical budget and giving it to Manatee Memorial.

“There is money out there,” DiLallo said.

DiLallo was referring to some indigent funds that have been left unclaimed by local physicians, as well as Blake Medical Center and MCR Health Services, due to a change in the county’s requirement for indigent care record keeping.

In order to better track the actual indigent patients and their illnesses, the county is now using a company called Health Insurance Exchange, or HIE, said Cheri Coryea, director of Manatee’s neighborhood services program.

The physicians took about $700,000 of the $1.25 million set aside for them, Coryea said.

Blake Medical Center and MCR Health Services, formerly Manatee County Rural Health, left nearly $900,000 on the table combined because they both did not elect to sign up with HIE, which the county now requires, Coryea said.

Blake’s chief executive officer, Dan Friedrich, tried in vain to get permission from his corporation to switch to or add HIE while Patrick Carnegie of MCR Health Services, told Coryea that his company just didn’t feel it was in their best interests, Coryea said.

DiLallo alone was willing to add HIE, Coryea said.

Just before they voted unanimously to stand pat at $3.2 million, Commissioner Charles Smith said he would favor revisiting the issue of more money for the hospital at a later date and all his fellow commissioners agreed.

Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, however, reminded her colleagues of their mission to reduce funding for indigent care, not to increase it.

Under public comment, Manatee resident Glen Gibellina said the additional $500,000 Manatee Memorial is asking for would be better spent on the new community paramedic program which is meant to keep frequent hospital users out of the emergency room.

“We know what they can do,” Gibellina said. “We have seen their work.”

Commissioners on Tuesday also approved the aforementioned $1.25 million for service providers and physicians who are willing to treat the medically needy under HIE record-keeping.

Commissioners also approved $5,000 to add to the already approved $500,000 which Manatee County has invested into the federal and state low income pool program, or LIP, which was reinstated this year.

This story was originally published April 25, 2017 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Manatee Memorial Hospital to be ‘at risk’ due to pay cut."