Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #281
Manatee County Rural Health Services Laboratory
 
Requester: Mickey Presha Organization: Manatee County Rural Health Services, Inc.
 
Project Title: Manatee County Rural Health Services Laboratory Date Submitted 1/14/2003 10:56:18 PM
 
Sponsors: Galvano, Reagan
 
Statewide Interest:
We serve a large population of migrant workers who routinely travel throughout the state and country. Proper diagnosis of health problems assists MCRHS with presribing the proper treatment regimen. The more our resources are focused on treatment rather than diagnosis, the sooner we can restore a patient's health and the less likely the patient is to carry chronic and potentially contagious health problems with them.
 
Recipient: Manatee County Rural Health Services, Inc.   Contact: Mickey Presha  
  12214 US Hwy 301 N.   Contact Phone: (941) 776-4000  
  Parrish 34219
 
Counties: DeSoto, Manatee, Sarasota
 
Gov't Entity:   Private Organization (Profit/Not for Profit): Yes
 
Project Description:
MCRHS provides primary health care services to more than 35,000 patients each year. Over 70 percent of our patients are living at less than 200 percent above the federal proverty level. Additionally, 84 percent of our patients are either on Medicaid or without insurance. The majority of MCRHS patients are either underserved, indigent, and/or uninsured. The purpose of MCRHS is to provide quality health care services to the medically underserved. By the nature of its mission and the patient base that MCRHS serves, many services are provided and performed without an adequate funding source for reimbursement. One such challenge is the expense of required diagnostic labs for patients. In order to provide proper treatment strategies, it is imperative to accurately diagnose patient health problems. MCRHS spends more than $350,000 annually on laboratory services for its patients. Approximately 75 percent of these expenses (or $250,000) is completely unreimbursed or have no pay source. The scarce resources of the corporation are spent on these unfunded labs in order to provide an accurate medical diagnosis for patients. However, the ultimate goal of all health care providers is to restore their patients back to good health by implementing effective treatment strategies. The resources expended on diagnostic expenses could be diverted to assist in providing patient treatment strategies such as medicines, pharmaceuticals, and therapies. Any resources provided for the cost of unfunded labs would free up monies for the treatment of patients.
 
Is this a water project as described in Chapter 2002-291, Laws of Florida? No
 
Measurable Outcome Anticipated:
Resources will be diverted from diagnostic services to treatment, wellness, and preventive health care services. The projected impact will be a higher rate of successful treatment and a healthier patient base.
 
Amount requested from the State for this project this year: $250,000
 
Identify item(s) in the FY 2003-04 Appropriations Bill to be reduced:
 
Specific Appropriation #:  
 
Specific Appropriation Title:  
 
Amount to be reduced: $
 
Total cost of the project: $250,000
 
Request has been made to fund: Operations
 
What type of match exists for this project? None
  Cash Amount $  
 
Was this project previously funded by the state?   Yes
  Fiscal Year: 2000-01 Amount: $150,000
 
Is future-year funding likely to be requested?   Unknown
 
Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request?   Unknown
 
Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget? Unknown
 
Is there a documented need for this project? Yes
  Documentation: We can provide financial audits showing expeditures for labs and billing for lab services.
 
Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?   Yes
  Hearing Body: Manatee County Legislative Delegation Hearing
  Hearing Meeting Date: 12/16/2002