Hospital contracts for indigent care to go before commission Dec. 1.
MANATEE -- Two months after the previous contracts expired, new contracts between Manatee County and local hospitals to provide care for the county's indigent population may be approved Dec. 1.
As Manatee County and local hospitals continue to go back and forth on the legal terms of the contracts, the date that the contracts go before the commission has been pushed back and hospitals continue to operate without any contracts.
The contracts were set to go to the commission for approval Nov. 3, then Nov. 17. The most recent contract expired Sept. 30, making this the first time in 30 years Manatee County doesn't have a contract with a hospital to provide indigent health care.
"We are still working through some of the language," Karen Windon, deputy county administrator, said Wednesday. "Our goal is to put it on the Dec. 1 agenda."
Windon added that they are working to "ensure what they are committing to and what we are committing to is feasible."
The proposed contracts would be for one year and would be for Manatee Memorial Hospital, MCR Health Services and Blake Medical Center. While the dollar amounts are not yet approved, Manatee Healthcare System, which operates Manatee Memorial Hospital, is expected to receive $3.525 million to treat indigent patients from Oct. 1, 2015 through Sept. 30, 2016, which is a $1.2 million cut. Blake Medical Center would get a $500,000 contract, which is down from the $670,000 the hospital received last year.
The county also plans to have a resolution for physicians payments going before the commission Dec. 1, Windon said.
The payments to physicians for indigent care are proposed to increase from $1 million to $1.25 million.
"We are providing more opportunities for people to access care for people going through physicians first so they have that continuum of care," Windon said.
With the lump sum set aside from the sale of Manatee Memorial Hospital years ago for treating Manatee's needy nearly depleted, the county has been working toward finding a plan to serve the indigent. The county is currently reviewing proposals for the development of a comprehensive health care program for uninsured and underinsured residents.
Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter@Claire_Aronson.
This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 2:33 PM with the headline "Hospital contracts for indigent care to go before commission Dec. 1. ."