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Journal North: Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Hospital Gets Less Than Requested
By Kiera Hay
Journal Staff Writer
Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center will receive $9.5 million in “sole community provider” funding from Santa Fe County over the next fiscal year — $600,000 less than the hospital originally requested.
That means St. Vincent also will lose out on more than $1 million in federal matching funds it could have attracted with that additional money.
“Of course we are disappointed. Even after federal and county support, Christus St. Vincent will provide tens of millions of dollars in unreimbursed care to the uninsured and underinsured. The lost $1.25 million in federal dollars would have helped,” hospital spokesman Arturo Delgado said in an e-mailed statement.
The Santa Fe County Commission voted 4-0 on Tuesday to provide St. Vincent with $9.5 million, the amount the hospital received for the current fiscal year. Commissioner Virginia Vigil was absent during the decision.
The county also allotted $130,536 to Española Hospital and $14,615 to Los Alamos Medical Center.
“This issue will continue to be a major concern for our entire community as the number of indigent and underinsured grow. Our hospital is committed to caring for people regardless of their ability to pay. We stand ready to continue to work on this issue with our county, state and federal leaders,” Delgado said in the statement.
According to a hospital factsheet, St. Vincent provided just over $11 million in indigent health services during the fiscal year that ended June 30. But county officials previously warned St. Vincent it would likely get only $9.5 million under the sole community provider arrangement, which helps pays for indigent care.
At a joint county-hospital meeting earlier this month, County Manager Roman Abeyta said St. Vincent's request was greater than the predicted gross receipts tax revenue designated for the fund and that giving the hospital $10.1 million could mean cutting into other county services.
At that gathering, St. Vincent CEO Alex Valdez also noted that St. Vincent may come up several thousand dollars short in future funding for the Santa Fe County Sobering Center, though he denied there was any connection between that information and the county's likely funding decision.
On Tuesday, Delgado said the hospital was still looking at the situation and that the sobering center was one example of a service that could be impacted by less overall funding.
Officials from both sides have said they will try to find alternative ways of reaching the full $10.1 million, including seeking help from the state during the current legislative session.
Delgado reiterated that position in a phone call Tuesday evening. “We did indeed have a real good conversation with the county as far as continuing to work together,” he said.
Steve Shepherd, director of the county's health and human services division, noted, “I think that's something our county manager has committed us to doing, and I think we will look at that going forward.” Though, he added, “How that happens, I'm not sure.”
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