A year ago, Pinellas County's two main hospital groups asked the County Commission to take more responsibility for the uninsured working poor. County funding had slipped over the years, and the hospitals faced a growing challenge to meet those needs, particularly through their emergency rooms.
County commissioners did respond with more money and a new program, and for that they should be commended. They added $2-million to their budget to compensate the hospitals, and another $1-million to provide preventive care for the uninsured at two community clinics. They boosted their EMS budget by $640,000 to compensate Bayfront Medical Center for its Bayflite trauma care.
It was a hopeful step, but it is not nearly enough.
The need is great and growing. A study done for Bayfront and BayCare Health System, which operates five hospitals, estimated that there are 50,000 uninsured poor in the county (not counting Medicaid recipients). They are typically adults with jobs, often in the burgeoning service industries, but who have no access to affordable insurance. The county says 18,000 uninsured are at the official poverty level, but even in that group it covers the expenses of only one in three, those most seriously ill or disabled. So tens of thousands of county residents, often our neighbors, need help with medical care.
The county's new program to provide primary care is a good start. A clinic opened a few weeks ago in Largo and will be operated by Community Health Centers of Pinellas. Another will open soon in Tarpon Springs. The plan is that uninsured residents will seek preventive care at those clinics and avoid trips to the emergency room or more expensive medical care later. If the clinics work as well as hoped, they should be expanded in the future.
Sue Brody, Bayfront CEO, said she is grateful for the help, but "it is just a step." The St. Petersburg hospital provides the bulk of medical services for the uninsured, a responsibility that costs more than $10-million a year and is responsible for the hospital's $3-million deficit last year.
So the commission's boost in spending provides water wings where a life boat is needed. The problem won't be solved until Pinellas County has an adequate and dedicated source of revenue for uninsured health care, as in Hillsborough County, where a half-cent sales tax raises more than $80-million a year to help the working poor.
It does appear that Pinellas County is at least on the right track. County Administrator Steve Spratt noted in this year's budget message on indigent health care that "the quality of a government is sometimes measured by how well it takes care of its least fortunate citizens."
County commissioners apparently have the heart to do what is right. Do they have the backbone?
