North Texas Hospital Requests Additional Funding To Care for Indigent

In renegotiating its annual indigent care contract with Texas' Collin County, the McKinney-based North Texas Medical Center is requesting $2 million in funding, $1.5 million more than what it currently receives, the Plano Star Courier reports. The $2 million would be split into $1.5 million to pay for the costs of treating those without health insurance and $500,000 to reimburse physicians. Dwayne Ray, the medical center's chief financial officer, said that the 215-bed hospital has received $500,000 annually for about 20 years to provide indigent care services and that during that time, the costs of those services have "far exceeded" the reimbursement. Ray added that physicians who provide indigent care have never been paid. "They have the liability for the patients but no compensation," Ray said. Patients who earn less than $716 per month and have "little or no property" are eligible to receive indigent care at the medical center, the Star Courier reports. The Collin County Healthcare Foundation, created after the county sold a former safety-net hospital, provides the funds for indigent care. County Commissioner Bob Lindberg said he planned to meet with officials from the medical center May 30 to discuss the contract (Smith, Plano Star Courier, 5/29).