County finds $355k for indigent care

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

GALLUP — The McKinley County Commission agreed Tuesday, to come up with almost $355,000 to get more than $1.2 million for the local county hospital to help defray costs of providing free care to indigents.

But how much of this will come from taxpayer’s pockets is still up in the air.

As explained to the commission, the money will come from the sole community provider program, which is funded by the state and the federal government. The state is ending the year with millions of dollars still in the coffers and is offering local governments a chance to get some extra funds.

In McKinley County, the money will go to the Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital, which has provided almost $2.7 million of care to indigents during the past 11 months as well as some $6.8 million to people who have refused to pay their bills, according to the hospital’s CEO, Chuck Wright.

County Attorney Doug Decker explained that this is something that comes up almost every year — the state finds more money and the county comes through with its share so that the hospital can receive between three and four times what the county puts in.

The problem is that in past years, the amount of money available from the state only required the county to come up with between $100,000 and $200,000, nowhere near the $355,000 that is being discussed this year. Of course, said Decker, the county doesn’t have to come up with the whole $355,000 — it could, for example, opt to pay in $200,000 and get back between $700,000 and $800,000.

But turning down what is basically free money is hard.
Decker said there is about $393,000 in the account that pays for indigent care in the county. These funds come from a one-eighth cent gross receipts tax that county residents pay.

The commission could take $355,000 from the account but that would only leave $38,000.

“This may not be quite comfortable,” Decker said, pointing out that the fund is used to pay for other indigent care besides for RMCH.

The commissioners talked about leaving $100,000 in the account or possibly asking the hospital to come up with as much as half of the amount.

Wright said he would work with the commission and the decision was made to go ahead and approve the $355,000 — because of deadlines — but to have county and hospital officials over the next couple of weeks negotiate and figure out how much of it would be paid by the hospital.

Also Tuesday, the commission agreed to provide a $15,000 grant to CARE66 to help with its programs to provide lodging for local families who are homeless.

CARE officials at first asked for $10,000 but then asked the commission to come up with $10,000 from each of the three commissioners.

The commission agreed to a compromise.