Hospital deal dies in special session

Three-year, $125 million plan is not sustainable, O’Malley administration says

“Most of what we do with the special session depends on what we do with our hospital,“ said Del. Barbara A. Frush (D-Dist. 21) of Beltsville. House whips will be asking delegates’ positions on bills as the session moves forward.

“I would much appreciate it if you would be noncommittal,“ she said.

Frush said Brown (D) was presented a plan that would pump $125 million over three years into the hospital system, which includes five sites managed by the Dimensions Healthcare Inc. Under the plan, Prince George’s County would have provided $50 million and the state $75 million, Frush said.

The O’Malley administration rejected the plan because it did not have long-term sustainability, she said.

But Brown said he and Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) were waiting for County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) and the Prince George’s County Council to agree on a plan.

“But the county executive and the County Council have not been in agreement of what that long-term solution will be,“ Brown said in a Monday evening interview in his State House office.

The hospital — which sees 180,000 mostly uninsured patients a year — has been on the fiscal ropes for years.

Johnson said he plans to discuss hospital funding solutions with County Council Chairwoman Camille Exum.

“What we really need is to get on the same page,“ Johnson said Monday.

O’Malley’s closest aides, including Brown and Health Secretary John M. Colmers, tried to work out a deal in the waning days of the 2007 General Assembly session.

A seven-year, $329 million bailout won Johnson’s support. But with only hours to go before the session’s end in April, Prince George’s County Council President Camille Exum (D) announced the council could not accept the plan.

Since then, county leaders have been trying to hash out an alternative. A committee of eight council members, delegates and senators has been trying to craft a deal. On Friday, the $125 million plan was presented to Brown, Frush said. The committee did not unanimously support the plan, although it did have the support of the council negotiators, she said.

“We applaud the governor for keeping the deal on the table from last year,“ said Samuel A. Epps IV, political organizer for 1199SEIU, a union representing the hospital’s work force.

Frush said county lawmakers are unclear of where the next move starts. Do they go back to O’Malley’s plan? Do they use a bill from Del. Doyle L. Niemann (D-Dist. 47) of Mount Rainier, which would create an independent authority to take over the hospital?

Frush made the announcement on Monday at a delegation meeting, where Johnson’s chief of staff, Mike Herman, was quizzed about an appraisal of the hospital site. The value of the land had been a sticking point during negotiations earlier in the year.

“I am aware of a document that exists,“ Herman told the delegates.

After the meeting, however, Herman said the appraisal was “irrelevant“ to either the proposal presented to Brown on Friday or Niemann’s bill.

The appraisal was a key part of the deal in April. The county wanted the value of the land to be credited as part of its contribution to the bailout.

Johnson took a tour Monday of Laurel Regional Hospital and met with William Williams, chairman of the Dimensions board.

“Things are speeding up,“ Johnson told a crowd of more than 100 medical personnel just before the meeting. “We don’t want to let the General Assembly get in front of us, because it’s moving, fast.“

Johnson said the county would wire at least a portion of the $12 million in funding that was withheld during disputes over management of the hospital system. A county spokesman was unable to say how much of the amount would be given.

Though doctors and nurses cheered Johnson’s visit, many also questioned whether the county would remain united before the state legislature.

“Based on what happened, my question is, what’s changed?“ asked Bobbie Tarbox, a Laurel Hospital nurse.

Staff writer Daniel Valentine contributed to this story.