Hollywood, Fla.-based Memorial Healthcare System will be fully funding its uncompensated care from its operating revenues in fiscal 2024, its CFO told Becker's.
That news comes even as the public health system lowered the tax rate it levies on property owners to help fund the system. Such funds are used to cover obligations such as paying for Medicaid programs.
The amount of uncompensated care is likely to exceed $1 billion in fiscal 2024, but making sure everyone in the local community receives the same care regardless of their ability to pay is one of the reasons CFO David Smith likes working at Memorial Health, where he's been for 25 years.
"Our mission is to heal the body, mind and spirit of those we touch," he told Becker's. "I feel good driving to work every day; this is a very fulfilling place to work."
The six-hospital system has lowered the so-called millage rate it levies on property owners every year for the past 15 years. For an average $300,000 house in its service area in Broward County close to Miami, that equates to approximately $25 a year from each property owner.
With such funds going directly to government obligations such as Medicaid, there is no net tax revenue the health system has left to spend on uncompensated care, hence the need to fund from internal operating sources.
"I spent about 12 years in both nonprofit and for-profit systems, and the mission was never quite as clear to me," Mr. Smith said.
Memorial Healthcare is an approximately $3 billion revenue system, according to financial documents.