Should Montgomery County start over with a new medical facility if Jackson Hospital closes?
This was a question posed by Montgomery County Commissioner Isiah Sankey during the June 16 county commission meeting.
Despite financial support from Montgomery County, the city of Montgomery and the state, privately owned Jackson Hospital remains on the critical list.
Jackson Hospital’s board of directors said that if a deal on reimbursement rates is not reached with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama by June 25, they will begin proceedings to close the facility.
Jackson Hospital filed a lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama claiming that nearby Baptist Medical Center South gets a higher reimbursement rate than they do. A federal judge ruled that the court does not have to compel BCBSAL to pay hospitals the same rates.
Sankey expressed doubts that Jackson Hospital will survive much longer.
“Perhaps we really need to start over, because I’m concerned about whether or not we can save (Jackson Hospital) at this stage,” Sankey said.
He suggested forming a regional hospital authority along with a tax structure to fund it “appropriately.” A number of public hospitals in Alabama operate under the Healthcare Authority Act, including Whitfield Regional Hospital in Demopolis and the DCH Health System in Tuscaloosa and Fayette counties.
“I think (a hospital authority) would be the answer, because we just ran through $10 million,” Sankey said. Sankey said he understood that the money was used to make January’s payroll.
“We can’t sustain that type of operation on the backs of the taxpayers,” Sankey said. “And so we need to start from scratch and see what we can come up with.”
The Montgomery County Commission meets on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 101 South Lawrence Street. Information sessions begin at 10 a.m. followed by the formal meeting.
Livestreamed meetings can be seen on the commission’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
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