Rising costs at ECMC may hurt taxpayers

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A financial and health care debacle may be in the Erie County Medical Center's future.

Chris Collins had said a new deal he struck with ECMC would take Erie County "out of the hospital business." He is being called on that statement now, because the county's share of the cost at ECMC is expected to increase by tens of millions of dollars by the end of this year.

The costs are skyrocketing at the hospital when it comes to treating patients who have little or no health insurance.

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Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said, "We'll you have an economy which is certainly down, and individuals who don't have jobs, and if you don't have jobs, you don't have health insurance."

In 2009, then County Executive Chris Collins negotiated a deal with ECMC to have Erie County pay $16.2 million to help cover these expenses. He called it a "fixed subsidy," and in exchange for that, the hospital let the county off the hook for all other losses and for paying off a hundred million dollars of debt.

"Took the taxpayers off the hook for future losses when we signed that agreement. Without the agreement, if the hospital lost $50 million, the Erie County taxpayer would have had to make up the loss," said Collins.

But that "fixed cost" of $16.2 million has risen sharply to more than $23 million in 2010 and $25 million last year. his year it is projected at as high as $38.9 million. Poloncarz says Collins underestimated the future costs of covering the uninsured and underinsured at ECMC.

"He should have known it was going to be higher than $16 million, and if he didn't, then it's sort of shame on him for not reading his own agreement," Poloncarz said.

Collins said, "We always said if it's above that, we're going to have to pick up the difference."

ECMC officials declined to go on camera, but say it is negotiating with the county to minimize the financial impact of soaring costs to cover the uninsured.

"We have committed that this agreement will not negatively impact the county's budget," said ECMC's Vice President for Market Planning, Tom Quatroche.

But the 2009 deal, Poloncarz says is already presenting major problems.

He said, "It is one of the big headaches I knew I'd have as county executive, when I took the office, and it turned out to be one of the biggest headaches as well."