ETMC and hospital district enter into agreement
Houston County Courier - December 2009
By Daphne Hereford
Managing Editor
News@houstoncountycourier.com
CROCKETT – The Houston County Hospital District and ETMC have entered into a letter of agreement that will set the stage for the entities to work together on projects which are part of the Upper Payment Limit Program (UPL).
ETMC Senior Vice President and Chief Financial officer Byron Hale attended the special called meeting on Thursday, Dec. 17 and told HCHD members that the agreement would not obligate the district and that it could lay dormant.
“This is the first step and time sensitive for 2010,” Hale said as he explained that the letter of agreement must be negotiated before the end of the year to accommodate participation in 2010.
HCHD President Dr. John Stovall said, “This can position us, if we so choose in January, to participate in the program.”
Hale explained the UPL Program as basically taking indigent care dollars, which are certified by the state, from the hospital district which are then matched by federal dollars and used for various projects.
Hale said that the federal match would be one and one-half times that invested by the district citing as an example if the HCHD invested $1 million they would receive $1.5 million in return in the form of projects that would benefit the community.
Hale told HCHD that the smallest amount that could be committed by HCHD was $100,000 and the largest $1.5 million.
He cited ETMC Trinity as an example of what could be accomplished with the two entities working together to benefit the community. “By working together we can do more,” Hale said.
HCHD approved entering into the agreement with ETMC.
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