County OKs Extended Medicare Settlement
The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a deal with the U.S. attorney’s office to take two extra years to pay off a $15.3-million settlement stemming from the federal government’s audit of the county’s Medicare billing practices going back nearly a decade.
It is a more expensive plan but one officials say makes good financial sense.
“It’s the first good news we’ve had in a long while,” Supervisor John Flynn said after an hourlong closed session where the matter was voted on. “We’re not completely out of the woods, but we’re beginning to see the light.”
But not all county officials are convinced that the five-year repayment plan would keep projects and programs--including funding for the homeless and a new juvenile hall--off the chopping block.
After county attorneys finalize the new settlement, the annual payment will go from $5.1 million to $3.12 million. Based on a variable interest rate, ranging from 4.5% to 7.3% annually, the county will pay about $300,000 extra in interest over the five years.
“It’s still a $3-million annual loss and it has to come from somewhere,” Auditor/Controller Thomas Mahon said.
Although Mahon is drafting a plan on how to cover the debt, supervisors will ultimately decide which funds to dip into to make the payments, he said.
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