By T. Scott Boatright
During Tuesday’s Lincoln Parish Police Jury meeting the LPPJ voted to set a public hearing for 6 p.m. May 6, at the start of that month’s meeting, to receive feedback on a request from Allegiance Health Management (AHM) for a new tax assessed on the hospital that could unlock additional Medicaid funding.
Allegiance Health Management officials hope that move will result in higher federal reimbursements for treating patients on Medicaid.
The LPPJ passed such a new tax in 2022 before Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed the proposed state law that would have allowed the process to occur.
But the proposed tax was brought up again and passed during last year’s state legislative session, prompting Allegiance to ask the LPPJ to pass the tax request again.
What it all means is that the parish would levy what is basically an occupational license tax on Northern Louisiana Medical Center (NLMC).
The hospital would pay the tax with the LPPJ and Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office would each receive parts of those proceeds with the remainder being moved into the state Medicaid program, where it would help the state receive a larger reimbursement from the federal government with that additional funding then being passed back to NLMC.
If Allegiance’s tax request is passed, a working committee would be created under the oversight of the Louisiana Department of Hospitals (LDH), which will crunch and bring back the numbers before the committee meets again and under resolution pass the tax rate.
The Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office would then collect the assessment, take off their fee, turn over the money to the parish with the money going into a dedicated checking account, and then by an inter-government transfer agreement with LDH, the parish will send the money to the LDH.
“I know it sounds strange that the hospital wants to pay this assessment, but the assessment goes into the Medicaid program and the state’s share of funding Medicaid is roughly 27 to 37 cents (on the dollar),” AHM attorney Nicole Frey told jurors during the March LPPJ meeting. “The federal government pays the rest. So, this is a funding mechanism to draw down more federal money that comes back to (NLMC) to help it counter its costs.”
NLMC CEO Kathy Hall spoke during last month’s LPPJ meeting as well as the one held on Tuesday and said that the tax will end up allowing the hospital and its providers to treat patients who are on Medicaid without losing money in the process.
During Tuesday’s meeting Hall stressed the investments AHM, which oversees Northern Louisiana Medical Center and Green Clinic \and owns or manages 12 other hospitals in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi, has already made in Lincoln Parish.
“(AHM CEO Rock Bordelon) purchased the hospital in July of 2020, right in the middle of the COVID pandemic,” Hall said. “A lot of people don’t realize, but the hospital didn’t receive any COVID funding because of the sale that occurred. Most hospitals did, but (NLMC) did not.
“Moving forward into 2021, he invested about $3.5 million that year just on equipment and upgrades. Then in 2022 we reopened the medical office facility (adjacent to the hospital) and started the process of recruiting doctors, because that’s the stability. You’ve got to get more doctors recruited here. Then in October (of 2022), we purchased the land for the (proposed new) hospital (north of Interstate 20) for what I believe was about $3.6 million.”
The following year AMH purchased the Bobby Ensminger Medical Plaza from St. Francis Hospital in Monroe, for what Hall said was about $3.2 million.
Then in 2024, AMH bought out Green Clinic for what Hall said was “a couple” million dollars.
“When you add it all up — the commitment Rock’s made for Lincoln Parish thus far — it’s over $16 million,” Hall said. “For this coming year as we move forward with plans to build the new hospital, we’ve recruited 14 new doctors that are here now, and we’ve added a lot of other services like in-patient rehab in 2024.
“So, there’s been a huge commitment. There’s been a lot of money that he has spent here.”
Juror Logan Hunt asked Hall what she and NLMC believe is the public perception of the hospital.
“I think that we’ve improved,” Hall said. “I think that the hospital was broken — it was not supplying every need that needed to be met. And there was a disconnect between the hospital and Green Clinic. The support was not there. My first year here, I looked at numbers and saw that 95% of admissions came from the ER. And that tells you that the community and the doctors were not supporting (the hospital).
“But that’s gotten better. The care has improved. Is the building old? Yes. And you can only fix it up so much. But I do think (the hospital) has gotten better.”
Juror Chris “Moose” Garriga admitted he has some concern about how any money derived from the proposed tax assessment would be spent.
“My fear is that this money comes in and that Avoyelles (Parish, where AMH also owns a hospital) gets $8-10 million (of it) for new construction. I think it’s time to get a new (hospital) done here.”
Juror Dan Lord expressed his concern about the public’s perception of NLMC.
“When you have to go to the ER and sit and wait for six or seven hours — that’s not good,” Lord said. “When my (constituents) come back and tell me they think it’s a (financially) sinking hospital, and we’re trying to help the hospital, but nobody wants to go to that hospital — they want to go to Monroe or to Shreveport.
“So, when the people stand up to us and ask why we are trying to support (NLMC) financially, even though they don’t know all the details, I think I would like to see improved patient care. I understand about the building. But nobody says they’re not going (to a certain) hospital because of the condition of the building.”
Hall countered by saying she believes care at NLMC has improved in recent years.
“If you have to go to the ER and wait six hours, then there’s something bad going on,” Hall said. “We don’t see that normal wait time anymore. Maybe we did at one time, but we don’t anymore.”
Garriga reiterated that his concern is accountability about how money brought in is used should the tax assessment request pass.
“I think accountability is something we need,” Garriga said. “In my opinion, accountability (of how money derived from such a tax assessment would be spent) is something that we would have to have.”
