Commissioners approve of county healthcare funding

On Tuesday, the Hays County Commissioners Court approved a 5.15% payment rate from each institutional health care provider located in the county to be deposited in an Local Provider Participation Funds (LPPF) established by the county.  

“We help those hospitals access federal funds to help offset the cost they incur to treat uninsured and Medicaid patients in the community,” said Robin Daniel, Senior Consultant for Adelanto Healthcare. “One of the ways we help them access these dollars is through the LPPF program.” 

According to Daniel, the program is critical to the financial health of local hospitals and assists them in covering that uncompensated care without impact on local taxpayers. This year, providers are requesting that Hays County collect a payment rate of 5.15%, which is a percentage of each hospital’s net patient revenue. 

“All of our hospitals participate in that, it is a huge benefit for them to be able to pull down these federal dollars here locally, our federal tax dollars to get spent on what is extremely important area of indigent healthcare needs,” said Precinct 3 Commissioner Lon Shell. 

Shell made a motion to set the rate for fiscal year 2022 at 5.15% for the Hays County LPPF. The invoices are expected to be prepared and sent to the providers by the end of the year. 

Chief Advocacy Officer for Ascension Texas, Geronimo Rodriguez, was also present during the meeting and voiced support for the percentage on behalf of the healthcare provider. Clarification was also given in regards to the 5.15% in that the percentage is paid by the hospitals. 

“Those funds are put into a separate fund that we have within the county that is then used to bring down the federal matched funds when those opportunities arise those are then distributed to the hospitals based upon formulas so it is at no cost to the taxpayer,” Shell said. 

The court began the meeting with a proclamation to acknowledge the contributions of the Lipan Apache Tribe to Hays County.

“I’m very grateful for this time and you know, I would like to add that this area up here was a pretty big population in the 1830s, very important with Austin, San Antonio and the Lockhart area,” said Bernard Barcena, Tribal Chairman for the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas. 

The commissioners also went on to approve the submission of a commitment of funds letter to the Texas Department of Emergency Management Hazard Mitigation Grant Program for the Hays County Hazard Mitigation Plan Update Project.

According to the county, the Office of Emergency Services is stocking up on resources and coordinating with community organizations to further prepare and assist residents. 

The court also authorized the execution of an interlocal cooperation agreement between Hays County and Texas State University related to the Feral Hog Abatement Program.

Under this agreement, the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment would provide services associated with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Feral Hog Abatement Grant program. 

To view the full agenda and meeting visit, hayscountytx.com/commissioners-court/court-video/. 

agonzales

@sanmarcosrecord.com

Twitter: @alyssagonz89