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Miller wants a mandate to ensure funding for Prince George’s Hospital Funding dispute stirs uncertainty of major Prince George’s hospital project
(8 days later)
A proposed regional hospital center in Prince George’s County is at the center of a budget spat between Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and the leaders of the Democratic-controlled legislature. A funding dispute between Maryland Democrats and Gov. Larry Hogan could threaten the viability of a long-planned regional hospital complex that is supposed to improve health care and spur economic development in Prince George’s County, officials involved with the project say.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said Tuesday that since Hogan chose not to include $15 million for the hospital in his $42.3 billion budget proposal, he will introduce legislation this week requiring the state to make the payment. He has at least 30 sponsors and support from House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel). For the second year in a row, Hogan (R) has ignored a request for a $15 million operating subsidy for the county’s main hospital, which is being jointly run by Dimensions Healthcare and the University of Maryland Medical System as a precursor to the more expansive teaching facility.
Miller said he was frustrated by Hogan’s unwillingness to appropriate the funds, which would help to provide quality healthcare to residents of Prince George’s County. Health-care officials say the funds are needed to keep Prince George’s Hospital Center functioning, which is an important component of getting the regional hospital approved by state regulators. John Ashworth, UMMS senior vice president of network development, called the subsidy “one of the cornerstones of making our financials work.”
“Time is of the essence,” Miller said. The governor, he said, needs to communicate with hospital and county officials about whether he “is he going to acquiesce in making this possible or not.” [Hospital project approved by county, waiting for state’s green light]
Matthew Clark, a spokesman for Hogan, said there was a five-year agreement to send additional funds to Dimensions Healthcare System, which runs Prince George’s Hospital Center and other facilities across the county. That agreement ended last year, he said. The state agreed in 2011 to provide $15 million annually as part of the transition of the Prince George’s health-care system. But the agreement, negotiated during the administration of former governor Martin O’Malley (D), expired after Hogan took office last year.
This year, Hogan included $27.5 million in capital funds to build a new regional hospital in the county. Aides to Hogan said he is under no obligation to continue the subsidy — a stance that prompted state Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) to sponsor legislation that would require the state to make the $15 million annual payments.
Clark said the administration is “supportive” of Prince George’s being a part of the University of Maryland Medical System. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
Miller has been pushing for the state to provide Prince George’s Hospital Center with what he calls “transitional” funds to help it continue to operate while the state considers a certificate of need for a 231-bed regional and medical campus in Largo. “It didn’t have to be that way. . . . It should have been in the governor’s budget this year,” Miller said. “But since it wasn’t, we’re going to move forward.”
[Prince George’s hospital plan approved by county, awaits key state clearance] Miller said a regional teaching hospital is critically needed in Prince George’s, where residents suffer from higher rates of chronic disease and death than elsewhere in the Washington region. “We’re going to make it happen on behalf of the people, especially the people who need health care,” Miller said. “I guarantee it’s going to happen.”
He said Hogan included the money in his budget last year and then cut it. The money is not a part of this year’s proposed spending plan. The Maryland Health Care Commission, the state agency that approves health-care projects, has been reviewing the Prince George’s application for more than two years. One major step in the process is obtaining a positive recommendation from the Health Services Cost Review Commission, the state body responsible for setting hospital prices and capping annual spending.
Thomas Himler, a deputy chief administrative officer for Prince George’s County, said if Prince George’s Hospital Center doesn’t receive the subsidy it could jeopardize its chances of receiving a certificate of need. In October, the commission sent a letter questioning the financial feasibility of the regional hospital project. That letter has triggered a protracted question-and-answer cycle with state officials over the costs, scope and size of the proposal.
“It’s going to be hard to get approved,” he said. “All the assumptions on our rates are premised on the subsidies.” Donna Kinzer, executive director of the commission, said the panel is committed to working out a solution with Dimensions, but that could mean modifying the size of the hospital plan. The two parties recently agreed to adjustments in financial projections and are negotiating the details.
The subsidy money is being used to not only sustain the system but make improvements at the three Dimensions-run facilities in Cheverly, Bowie and Laurel, which is a requirement for the certificate of need. [Stronger primary-care network called key to success of new hospital]
Miller said he plans to ensure that the hospital gets the funds by sponsoring a bill that would mandate the funding. The snail’s pace is frustrating for county officials. “They keep asking questions, we keep answering questions, and it’s a never-ending cycle,” said Thomas Himler, deputy chief administrative officer for County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D). “We are so close to the finish line that if everyone can get out of each other’s way, we can declare victory and move to a groundbreaking — and everything will be fine.”
“It didn’t have to be that way, it shouldn’t be that way,” Miller told reporters. “It should have been funded last year. It should have been in the governor’s budget this year but since it wasn’t, we’re going to move forward and suggest that it be taken care of immediately.” Baker’s administration sent Hogan a new memorandum of understanding in October, but the governor has not signed it. Hogan further angered Baker and state Democratic leaders by including $27.5 million for the construction of the new hospital, even as he withheld the operating funds.
“If he doesn’t live up to his responsibility to make sure there is health care in Prince George’s, then the legislative body will step in,” said Baker, who is considered a rising star in the Democratic Party and a potential challenger to Hogan in 2018. “If this system goes down, it will be up to the state to deal with it.”
A spokesman for Hogan said the governor is in talks with Miller and Busch about the funding, although Miller says he has not had such a conversation with the governor.
“It’s disappointing that when they don’t get what they want when they want it, they enact more mandates,” Hogan spokesman Doug Mayer said.
The bills being sponsored by Miller and Busch would require a $15 million operating subsidy in fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019, followed by $5 million each in fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2021.
By that point, the new hospital is expected to be up and running. Its success, officials say, would depend in large part on luring doctors who prefer to work at larger hospitals elsewhere in the region, and attracting patients from Prince George’s and nearby areas who travel to the District, Montgomery County or elsewhere for medical care.
The regional hospital is an “incredibly important project” for Prince George’s County, Ashworth said. He said he hopes that the project will be approved in late spring or early summer.