LAKEPORT >> The county’s two hospitals explored ways to bring greater healthcare options for residents by implementing a tax on their health facilities which could sustain varied services sometimes missing in rural areas.
Sutter Lakeside Hospital CEO Tim Stephens gave a presentation to the Lakeport City Council Tuesday projecting a way Sutter and Adventist Health could benefit the institutions and improve healthcare delivery for many county residents.
Stephens noted since 2010, “There’s been 167 rural hospitals that have been closed, and if you ask those communities what happened when those hospitals closed, they will say, everything (ancillary business) withered,” he said. “Our partners talked about how economic development is hard to maintain without hospitals in local community, which is something to think about”
Also, between 2014 and 2022 there were 382 hospitals the halted chemotherapy in rural areas. And according to the California Department of Public Health documents in 2022, the two county hospitals lost between $10 to $12 million potential revenue. It is imperative to keep those institutions sustainable he stressed.
By employing a BID system, tax money could maximize at the federal dollar levels. The federal government will pass it back down to communities in accordance with patient needs for services rendered. So, the impact of $10 to $15 million coming outside the community back to the county from the federal level will have zero impact on patient billing noted Stephens.
Mayor Michael Froio was uncertain how the revenue comes in without raising insurance premiums or requiring patient co-pays. “We’re able to get this money from the federal government- and giving it to the county to hold, how is that working?”
Stephens noted Sutter has an initiative to eventually hire a number of students fresh out of county high schools. Such new hires could train in cardiopulmonary resuscitation or, enable them to train in computer radiography, as certified nursing assistants or medical assistants. “We’re spending a lot of money on work force development and looking at how to get this medical education and make it happen,” he said.
Stephens noted that much new economic activity has a multiplier effect. For healthcare, it can bring in up to two times the money invested in the BID taxes and the revenue will likely be spent within the county.
City Manager Kevin Ingram reminded council they discussed previously whether council comes back to offer a resolution, or have the Mayor sign a letter of support, but there would be value if they submitted it prior to a presentation before the BOS. Stephens reminded council he planned a future presentation.
Mayor Froio cautioned he heard a bit of hesitation from Stephens, it may not work out 100%. “But it sounds like something we should be doing,” he said. “It sounds like something we can all be happy about.”
