Category: Indigent Care

The RFP of the University of Louisville Remains Undead

UofL postpones partner selection for second time.

Just when you thought you were safe from any more non-data-driven updates from me about the status of the University’s search for a new business partner conducted under the invisibility cloak of its Request for Proposal (RFP), I got a reprieve. The Courier-Journal’s Laura Ungar reported over the weekend, that UofL had delayed its decision until “on or before September 28.” This three-month extension is longer than the the entire original RFP lifecycle filed earlier this year on February 23, with a deadline for responses of March 23, and an anticipated final selection the week of April 16! When April turned out to be the cruelest month, the decision deadline was extended to the end of June, and again now to the end of September.

On learning about the news, I offered the following statement:

This second postponement of an announcement about the RFP gives no clue how things are going from the University’s perspective. From my viewpoint, the news that the University wants to continue its top secret dealings about something so important to our community is very disappointing. UofL has justified many of its actions over the last few years in the name of providing indigent medical care, but those decisions are not the University’s alone to make. The longer the University administration delays engaging the public for its consent and support, the more we all have to lose. As Mayor Fischer recently pointed out, “there are outstanding questions regarding the most effective way to manage and provide indigent care.” That is a conversation that cannot be had behind closed doors.

Continue reading “The RFP of the University of Louisville Remains Undead”

Louisville Metro Council Passes Budget for 2012- 2013

Level Funding for Quality Community Care Trust (QCCT)

Last night the Louisville Metro Council passed a budget for 2012-2013 with very few and relatively minor changes from the proposed budget they and the Mayor had put together over the past few weeks. For the purposes of this Policy Blog, the controversial QCCT fund for inpatient care of the underserved  at University of Louisville Hospital received funding of $7.00 million. This is the same net amount the University has received in recent years but which the University claims is a decrease. The Courier-Journal’s report today states that a clause was added that if city income projections are better than projected next year, that additional funding would be considered. [The official published budget is not yet available to me. When it is, I will quote the language of the clause, the final numbers, and comment further.] Below are the figures from the proposed budget. A neater tabulated copy is available. Continue reading “Louisville Metro Council Passes Budget for 2012- 2013”

Big News Day Yesterday!

Is the University of Louisville losing its grip on the messages?

Yesterday was a big news day for most of the threads that this policy blog has pursued over the last few months. You can follow the discussion by using the Topic Links below or at the right. The thing that ties them together is the involvement of the University of Louisville which has vested interests in the outcomes. Continue reading “Big News Day Yesterday!”

Open Letter to Louisville Metro Council About Indigent Care Funding.

Louisville City Hall
Full Disclosure needed to keep UofLHonest.

Here is a letter I sent to all our Metro Council Members in Louisville.  I attached a copy of the article immediately before this one. The University’s mystery cuts and impact on the hospital are meaningless unless their context in the entire Hospital and University budgets are known. Continue reading “Open Letter to Louisville Metro Council About Indigent Care Funding.”