County officials told residents at the December meeting that Apex, the company planning a private hospital in Marion County, has indicated it is ready to move forward with closing and would like to do so in January if paperwork and sign-offs are complete.

Residents pressed the court with practical questions about who the hospital will serve and how care will be paid. One resident asked repeatedly, "Do they take Medicare or Medicaid?" and expressed concern about where uninsured or underinsured people would seek care and whether follow-up transportation between hospitals would be free.

A county official responded to those concerns by emphasizing the county's limited role: "The company that will be putting hospital in, hopefully, in Marion County has absolutely 0 task this commissioner's court, how they operate their business, how they charge for their business, what they plan on offering or not offering, has absolutely nothing to do with the determinations that happened in this room with this court." The official said the county is facilitating the property transaction (sale of county property for a nominal amount was discussed in the record) and will ask the developer to hold town hall meetings to answer operational questions from residents.

A county official further told the court: "Apex, has indicated to me that they're ready to move forward with the closing," and addressed public worries about taxes and indigent care: "Now this is a private hospital. It it's not subsidized. It's not about the the taxpayers... We're not we're not building it. We're not taxing you for this purpose." The official also noted that the Marion County Hospital District is tasked with assisting indigent residents to obtain health care and suggested the district may need to increase enrollment or outreach to reach uninsured residents.

The court did not take formal action on the hospital operator's services or billing practices at the meeting. Officials said they will request that the developer provide public information sessions so residents can ask about Medicare/Medicaid acceptance, billing practices and transportation options.