CORPUS CHRISTI (Kiii News) -
It is like a massive financial burden was lifted off of the shoulders of Nueces County taxpayers after County Commissioners approved an agreement between the hospital district and Christus Spohn Health Systems.
In a unanimous vote, commissioners approved that the Hospital District become a Christus Spohn member, meaning Spohn will share in the profits generated by private patients who pay for the services.
While the Hospital District will pay Spohn $31 million to provide services for the 10,000 indigent patients it treats every year, Spohn Systems will pay the District about $6 million each year to use the hospital, as well as a share in the profits.
Just how much the Health District will get, however, remains unknown.
"There's a lot of trust in this agreement, and as we move forward, as one of our former presidents used to say, we will be 'trusting but verifying' as we move forward," Nueces County Judge Loyd Neal said.
Spohn said the shared profit amounts will depend on how much patient revenue the hospital earns each year. In return for the agreement, Spohn will be able to use the extra revenue to get additional federal funding to pay for indigent care.
The new agreement goes into effect Oct. 1.
