Four commissioners -- Bert Bivins, Mallory Jones, Joe Allen, and Valerie Wynn -- all voted against giving Navicent Health over $450,000 to pay for indigent care.
Navicent officials declined to speak to 13WMAZ Thursday, but sent us a statement that said
"We are disappointed in the Macon-Bibb County commission's decision to eliminate indigent care funding for The Medical Center, Navicent Health, particularly during a time when hospitals in our state are facing unprecedented financial challenges.”
In the statement, Navicent said it costs them nearly $100 million last year to cover the costs of people who can't pay for it, but county commissioner Mallory Jones says they had to make tough decisions on what to cut.
And he cited a hospital financial report that says Navicent took in more than $800 million more than their costs in 2016 and said his constituents don't want tax money going to the hospital.
Jones says that $450,000 seems like a small number, but that money could pay to hire 9 new employees or cut down on a potential millage rate increase.
Commissioner Mallory Jones has gathered research on Navicent Health's finances and says giving them more than $450,000 from the county budget just doesn't make sense.
“They don't need the money -- $450,000 won’t make a difference, but to us it'll make a huge difference,” said Jones.
A report from Tyler and Company says Navicent Health had a net revenue of $800 million in 2016 and 400 days of cash reserves on hand. Jones says Macon-Bibb only has 19 days funding in the piggy bank.
“We only have so much money, and it's not fair to fund them at last year's level and it’s not fair to pass this on to the taxpayers of Macon-Bibb County,” said Jones.
Navicent wants the money to help pay for medical care they provide to people who can't afford to pay for it. If commissioners had approved the funding, it would have increased the property tax rate by another .11 mills, and with the rate possibly rising by 4.1 mills, Jones says every bit counts.