Restore full funding to Kansas City’s indigent care providers, not just $1 million

After a public outcry, City Hall has restored half of a recent and sudden funding cut for the Kansas City safety net agencies that care for indigent patients. But more must be done.

Compassionate voters have done their part at two elections in the last decade, approving tens of millions of dollars a year through higher taxes to provide better health care for thousands of less fortunate residents.

Now Mayor Sly James and the City Council need to keep their part of the bargain and approve promised funding for Truman Medical Centers and other highly critical safety net agencies.

Here is one step in the right direction.

On Tuesday, City Manager Troy Schulte told The Star he will restore $1 million of a proposed $2 million cut in indigent care funding, which just weeks ago was slashed from this year’s budget.

Truman will get $750,000 of that amount before the city’s fiscal year ends April 30. The remaining $250,000 will be spread to Children’s Mercy Hospital, KC CARE Clinic, Northland Health Care Access, Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center and Swope Health Services.

All have done wonderful work helping thousands of people get access to high quality care. Doctors, nurses and other employees have saved lives and kept many indigent patients out of private hospitals’ emergency rooms. That has helped reduce health care premiums for those who have insurance through their workplaces.

Lora Lacey-Haun, co-chair of the Kansas City Health Commission, said the group was “very pleased” with Schulte’s action. In February, it had expressed outrage at the out-of-the-blue cut.

Lacey-Haun added that the commission and the health care agencies want the full $2 million restored for both fiscal years. A lower amount “is just totally unacceptable to us,” she said.

But Schulte said he still planned to call for a $1 million reduction for safety net agencies in the 2015-16 city budget, which James and the council must approve later this month.

However, elected officials need to step in and make sure Truman and the other indigent care providers receive the full $2 million this fiscal year and next.

Properly so, a number of community leaders and residents recently have criticized City Hall’s approach to this crucial matter. Pulling money away from indigent care — endorsed by voters at health levy elections in 2005 and 2013 — is close to indefensible.

City officials have responded that the move was necessary because they have not been collecting enough in private reimbursements from ambulance patients. Thus, the health levy has been needed to supplement ambulance costs, incurred by the Fire Department.

Schulte and James have said that a plan to put ambulance revenue collections in the hands of a private group — which some council members stopped through a petition effort — would have reduced the city’s personnel expenses and freed up more money for indigent care.

Even if that’s the case, the city has other ways to restore full funding for safety net providers.

Excess Fire Department costs could be better reined in, which could include shuttering another fire company.

Schulte said he would respond to recent council members’ requests to provide other options as well. That could mean draining the city’s reserves a little or cutting a lower priority expense elsewhere from the $1.473 billion budget.

All of these actions would be preferable to City Hall thumbing its nose at voters and unnecessarily taking millions away from health care agencies.

This story was originally published March 10, 2015 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Restore full funding to Kansas City’s indigent care providers, not just $1 million."