Hospitals sued over ambulance charges

After the county files the $1.1-million suit, the four hospitals offer to settle under terms of a previous county proposal.

By DEBORAH O'NEIL

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 6, 2001

CLEARWATER -- Pinellas County sued four local hospitals Tuesday to collect $1.1-million the hospitals owe for ambulance services provided since 1996.

The lawsuits were filed in Circuit Court against St. Anthony's Hospital and Morton Plant Mease Health Care, which includes Morton Plant, Mease Dunedin and Mease Countryside, less than an hour after county commissioners approved the litigation.

All the hospitals are affiliated with BayCare, a network of local hospitals.

"We need to ask them to pay their bills," said Commissioner Barbara Sheen Todd. "If it means going to court, then we go to court."

About 5 p.m., an attorney for the hospitals faxed the county a letter indicating that the hospitals wanted to settle. The letter indicates the hospitals are willing to pay the county a reduced amount, which was proposed by the county in a settlement earlier this year.

Under that offer, the four hospitals would pay the county a total of $307,958, according to the letter by Emil Marquardt, an attorney for BayCare, which includes St. Anthony's and Morton Plant Mease Health Care.

The hospitals could deliver the money by this afternoon, the letter said.

"We want to resolve the issue immediately so we can focus our resources on patient care and not on litigation," said BayCare spokeswoman Amy Lovett.

By 6 p.m., Interim County Administrator Gay Lancaster said she would analyze the offer and bring it before commissioners for a decision.

"We've got to really look at it," Lancaster said. "Any settlement offer has to be taken to the board."

The County Commission did not sue Bayfront Medical Center because last week hospital chief financial officer Bob Thornton contacted the county and agreed to pay its $179,000 bill in full, said Lancaster.

The 6-1 vote to sue the remaining hospitals came despite a request by a top hospital official that the negotiations continue. Philip Beauchamp, president and chief executive officer of Morton Plant Mease Health Care, told the commissioners:

"Our hospitals have always had a good relationship with the county and the community.

"We feel litigation would be an enormous waste of tax dollars," he said. "Obviously, there has been some miscommunication and confusion on this issue."

The $1.1-million represents what the hospitals owe the county's ambulance service for transporting hospital patients to mental health facilities for psychiatric evaluations. The cost of each ride is $355.90, plus $8.60 per mile.

Hospital officials have said that cost is too high. The county will soon offer a new mental health transport van that will cost $85 per ride.

Commission Chairman Calvin Harris voted against suing the hospitals, saying the county should do more to resolve the issue out of court.

"Are we just going to wait and go to court to have a judge tell us to go back and talk?" Harris said. "There has to be a better way to resolve this other than litigation."

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