By Tim Bonfield
Enquirer staff writer
Lawyers for the TriHealth hospital group say it isn't fair for one nonprofit hospital to get millions of dollars each year from a Hamilton County tax levy for indigent care when other nonprofit hospitals that also provide care to the poor get nothing.
Lawyers for University Hospital, which has been getting voter-approved subsidies since 1966, say county commissioners acted reasonably and had the legal right to continue directing levy funds to the one hospital that provides more indigent care than any other hospital.
After hearing about three hours of arguments Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Dlott says she will decide after Thursday on whether either side should win the case through summary judgment.
At stake is about $170 million in tax funds generated by the five-year levy and the future of medical care for up to 45,000 county residents who lack health insurance but do not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare.
TriHealth, which includes Good Samaritan and Bethesda North hospitals, has argued for several years that changes should be made in how the county distributes hospital levy funds. It filed suit against the county in 2002, shortly after county commissioners decided against changing the levy arrangements.
TriHealth officials say the county has two options:
• Rework the levy system so that the money "follows the patient" to whichever hospital treats them.
• Allow other hospitals to competitively bid for the exclusive contract to care for indigent patients.
"Concentrating all the levy funds to a single hospital in the urban core is no longer defensible," said Richard Cordray, one of the lawyers representing TriHealth.
University Hospital contends there is no compelling reason to rework a safety-net care system that took decades to build and provides what even TriHealth officials describe as "outstanding" care.
What's next
The TriHealth hospital group is challenging a Hamilton County tax levy for indigent care that pays $34 million a year to University Hospital but does not pay other adult-care hospitals for treating uninsured people.
