Bell County sets 6% rate for Health Care Provider Participation Fund after public hearing

The Bell County Commissioners Court on Tuesday adopted a resolution setting the FY2025 rate for the Bell County Health Care Provider Participation Fund at 6 percent, the court said.

County staff explained the mechanism during a public hearing: participating local hospitals submit an assessment to the county, which acts only as fiscal agent and transmits the funds to the state to obtain federal matching dollars. Those matched funds are distributed back to hospitals to offset uncompensated care; the county does not determine how the state allocates the returned funds. The court opened the hearing for public comment and received none.

Commissioners asked staff how the rate is set and who prepares the detailed calculations. Staff said a consulting group performs the rate calculations (the transcript referenced Carlos Zamperini’s group) and that, going forward, the statute requires institutional providers to submit reports to the county; staff said they will require those submissions. The court also noted the statute refers to the assessment as a “tax” but staff characterized it as an assessment or allocation for the hospitals’ program.

Commissioner Schneider moved to approve the resolution setting the 6 percent rate; Commissioner Schumann seconded. The court approved the resolution by voice vote with all indicating “aye.” The record shows the county, as fiscal agent, may keep up to $20,000 to cover administrative costs of holding the custodial account.

Next steps: staff will finalize the resolution language and ensure providers submit required reports to the county as directed during the hearing. The court did not receive any public comments at the hearing and no further action on uses of the returned funds was taken by the court.