Board approves letter backing Toppenish Hospital funding request; commissioners ask for hospital ER billing data

Yakima County commissioners on April 14 approved a letter of support for a congressional directed-spending request submitted on behalf of Toppenish Hospital. Commissioner Lindy introduced a draft letter the board had previously agreed to send to the county’s congressional delegation; the board moved and seconded the motion and approved it by voice vote.

Lindy asked staff to direct an identical letter specifically to Congressman Dan Newhouse’s office at the request of the congressman’s staff. The motion carried with an oral "aye" recorded in the transcript.

During the same discussion Lindy asked for additional hospitalization and billing data. She said Memorial Hospital reported 45,239 emergency-room visits by people described in the transcript as "illegal aliens" in 2024 and that total reimbursement requested was about $3,500,000. Lindy asked staff to obtain comparable data from Astria (Toppenish Hospital) including: (1) the number of emergency-room visits in 2024 by the same population category, (2) total emergency-room visits in 2024, and (3) payer breakdowns (Medicare, commercial insurance, self-pay, etc.).

Lindy framed the request as relevant to federal reimbursement policy and broader state fiscal planning: "The federal government prohibits the use of federal tax dollars going to people who are in The United States illegally," she said in discussion, and she referenced state and federal budget implications if reimbursement practices are disputed. Commissioners did not vote on any policy regarding immigration or billing at the meeting; they directed staff to collect the requested hospital billing and payer data and to send the approved letter to the congressional office specified.

The county clerk recorded the motion as approved; staff were asked to follow up with Astria/MultiCare and with the county’s public-health contacts to obtain the requested data.