Manatee Memorial Hospital and Blake Medical Center, both in Bradenton, Fla., could lose indigent healthcare funding from the county they're in, according to a Bradenton Herald report.
Here are six things to know about the potential loss.
1. Manatee County has proposed a $1.2 million cut in indigent healthcare for Manatee Memorial Hospital this year. Specifically, Manatee County is preparing to offer the Manatee Healthcare System, which operates Manatee Memorial Hospital, $3.525 million to treat indigent patients from Oct. 1, 2015, through Sept. 30, 2016, said Karen Windon, deputy county administrator, according to the report.
2. Blake Medical Center, on the other hand, would get a $500,000 contract, compared to the $670,000 it received last year.
3. The numbers have not been finalized.
4. If the proposed cut is approved, Manatee Memorial will be more than $2 million short for indigent care, the hospital's CEO Kevin DiLallo said, according to the Bradenton Herald.
5. Dan Friedrich, CEO of Blake Medical, also expressed concern about his hospital's proposed contract from the county, telling the Bradenton Herald, ""It is lower than last year's rate and it includes some conditions of participation that were not a part of previous contracts." For instance, the hospital will be required to "build a system of care."
6. In talking about the reasoning for the preliminary contract numbers, Ms. Windon said the county "tried to make a reduction for each of the hospitals that was a consistent percentage decrease," and "looked at the total amount of funding that was put in reserves this fiscal year to allocate toward healthcare and at the services our medical partners were able to provide."
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