Private Hospitals Demand Share of County Money

An organization representing the county’s seven private hospitals said Friday that it will give the county one month to come up with a plan to share its $260-million tobacco settlement--or it will throw its money and support behind a plan that divert the money to private hands.

“If we don’t get significant movement in 30 days, we’ll just stop wasting the county’s time,” said Jim Lott of the Healthcare Assn. of Southern California, after two hours of talks with county Chief Administrative Officer Harry Hufford.

“We don’t have to have signed contracts, but we’ve got to have a clear, definitive policy” approved by the Board of Supervisors that would reimburse private hospitals for indigent care, Lott said.

Hufford characterized the meeting as good but would not say what sort of compromise he is willing to recommend to the supervisors.

“My position is let’s see how much progress we can make in the next 30 days.”

Community Memorial Hospital, which has long considered the neighboring Ventura County Medical Center as a rival, is seeking to place an initiative on the November ballot that would divert the county’s tobacco money to seven private hospitals.

Michael Bakst, Community Memorial’s executive director, has said that the county cannot be trusted to spend the money on health care as the public intended. He has noted that county supervisors have already chosen to spend a portion of the money to cover $15.3 million in federal penalties levied against the county for improper Medicare billing practices.

County supervisors said they believe Community Memorial’s initiative is unconstitutional because it would strip them of their budgetary powers. They argue that it is essential to maintain flexibility over management of the county’s money.