Manatee County looks for health care expertise from outside

MANATEE -- Three proposals for the development of a comprehensive health care program for uninsured and underinsured residents have been submitted to Manatee County.

The proposals are from: PricewaterhouseCoopers in a joint proposal with Health Council of West Central Florida, both of Tampa; LM Christmann Consulting of Bradenton; and Health Management Associates Inc. of Lansing, Mich.

Proposals were due at 3 p.m. Wednesday when they were officially opened, but details were not made public.

An evaluation committee comprised of county staff will now evaluate the proposals. The committee will then make a recommendation to the county administrator. The county commission will

have final approval.

Jacob Erickson, a contracts negotiator with the county, said he is still selecting the evaluation committee members.

The county requested proposals for an outside entity to "identify appropriate processes moving forward for uninsured and underinsured health care," according to the request for proposal.

According to the addendum to the RFP, work will be completed by Oct. 1, 2016, and is "not to exceed amount budgeted in the Fiscal Year 2016 budget of $125,000. This amount includes all costs associated with the contract."

Karen Windon, deputy county administrator, has said that because the county doesn't have a health care expert on staff, having an "outside entity will be really helpful."

"I think this is a very valuable approach to looking at the overarching community health for the underinsured and uninsured community residents," Windon said.

With proceeds set aside from the sale of Manatee Memorial Hospital years ago for treating Manatee's needy nearly depleted, the county has been seeking a plan to serve the indigent.

"Manatee County's objective is to work toward the development of a comprehensive health care program for the uninsured and underinsured residents in Manatee County that is fiscally reasonable and demonstrates sound fiscal responsibility," the RFP states.

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter @Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published September 30, 2015 at 11:50 PM with the headline "Manatee County looks for health care expertise from outside ."