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Collin County approves higher hospital assessment to unlock federal Medicaid funds
Summary
Collin County Commissioners Court voted to raise the mandatory payment rate for the Local Provider Participation Program from 3.5% to 6% for FY2025, allowing private hospitals to leverage federal reimbursements for care of low-income and uninsured patients.
Collin County Commissioners Court voted to amend the FY2025 Local Provider Participation Program (LPP), increasing the mandatory payment rate hospitals must pay on annual net patient revenue from 3.5% to 6%, a move county staff said will allow private hospitals to draw additional federal Medicaid reimbursements.
The change was approved after a public hearing in which hospital consultants and local hospital representatives described the LPP as a financing mechanism that uses hospital contributions — not county general revenue — to unlock federal funds that reimburse hospitals for uncompensated care. "These hospital dollars, no use of county general revenue or anything like that, unlock federal funds to pay them back for the services they provide for the poorest of the poor in your county here," said Michael Neal of Almonte Healthcare Ventures.
The program administrators asked the court to adopt the higher rate so participating hospitals can contribute up to the amount expected by the state. Neal said representatives from HCA Medical City (McKinney) and Texas Health Resources were present to support the request, and described the change as intended to reimburse hospitals for care to uninsured and low-income patients.
County staff opened the public hearing and, after hearing no members of the public, the court moved to approve the rate amendment. Commissioner Webb moved for approval; a second was made on the record and the court approved the amendment by voice vote. The judge announced the item as the formal amendment from 3.5% to 6% and recorded the motion as carried.
Court members did not request modifications to the proposal during the hearing. The county record indicates the increase applies to the FY2025 LPP payment rate; the county did not use general-fund dollars for the contribution, according to the presentation. The amendment was presented and adopted on the same day as the public hearing.
The LPP is a local financing mechanism used in some Texas counties that permits hospitals to pool contributions to draw matching federal Medicaid dollars; Collin County’s program rate is set annually by the commissioners court. No additional budget figures, estimated federal match amounts, or votes by roll call were provided during the public hearing or recorded in the transcript.
