INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Attorneys for the Hospital District and the Indian River Medical Center finally appear to be close to settling on a new Indigent Care Agreement, a contract spelling out how the District will reimburse the hospital for indigent care with tax dollars and what rights each side has.
“We’re very close with about 90 percent agreement,” said the District’s attorney, Jennifer Peshke, who has been negotiating with the hospital for 14 months in an attempt to come up with a contract acceptable to both sides.
The new 21-page agreement differs from the old one because it carefully defines the reimbursement formula for a three-year period rather than saying the District will pay the hospital a “fair and adequate amount,” which the hospital defined as whatever it needed.
The new agreement also makes it crystal-clear that if the hospital does not get the amount it needs beyond what the District has budgeted, it can ask the District for more money, but the final decision on any additional reimbursement amounts is solely up to the seven District trustees as elected representatives of the taxpayers.
The new Indigent Care Agreement was written by Hospital District attorney Glen Torcivia, working with other District attorneys.
When presented to hospital attorneys last week, the reaction was positive, though hospital attorneys suggested minor tweaks and changes, which the District’s attorneys are incorporating.
This Thursday, if things go as anticipated, attorneys for both sides should have a deal to present to their respective boards for approval.
Approval by both boards – if it does take place in the next few weeks – will mark the end of more than 15 months of painful negotiations between the hospital and the District.