March 29, 2025 • 47 mins
In this revealing episode, I share my vision for transforming healthcare delivery in Bell County through the creation of a dedicated hospital district. After six months of research, visiting successful models across Texas, and analyzing our current system's limitations, I'm convinced this approach offers the best path forward for our growing community.
Bell County currently allocates 8% of our general revenue budget (approximately $10 million annually) to indigent healthcare services, split between jail healthcare and community programs. But as our population grows and federal cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and the Local Provider Participation Fund loom, this system faces mounting pressure. The stark reality: without structural change, our most vulnerable residents will suffer as existing resources stretch thinner.
The hospital district model—already proven successful in Texas's largest counties—would consolidate indigent healthcare funding, public health responsibilities, and jail healthcare under one specialized entity. This would address troubling disparities in service levels between eastern and western Bell County while creating a focused, efficient approach to community healthcare needs.
What makes this proposal particularly practical is that Bell County residents already pay for indigent healthcare through county taxes. Creating a hospital district would transfer those existing funds to the new entity, ideally with a corresponding reduction in the county tax rate. The district would have dedicated healthcare professionals managing these critical services rather than competing with roads, law enforcement, and other county priorities.
My commitment is bringing this proposal to voters in November 2026. When democracy and healthcare access are on the line, we must choose to fight rather than surrender. Join me in exploring how a Bell County Hospital District could strengthen our community's health safety net for generations to come.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Commissioner Louie Mino (00:01):
Welcome .
You're listening to the LouieMinor Show.
I'm your host, bell County.
Commissioner Louie Minor, todayis March 29, 2025.
We are back.
Had a lot of stuff been goingon that I want to catch you up
on.
Then I want to talk to youabout some priorities for 2026.
(00:24):
You up on and then I want totalk to you about some
priorities for 2026.
There's no commissioner's courtmeeting on Monday because it's
the fifth Monday of the month.
So the next commissioner'scourt will be April 7th and I'm
sure it'll be a lot on theagenda to cover, so I'll be
anxious to talk about that onceit comes out.
(00:46):
But so let's talk about what'sgoing on.
This weekend Down in Austinthey're having an SDEC meeting
that's the executive committeefor the Democratic Party, and
because of Chair Hinojosastepping down and resigning,
(01:09):
we're going to be getting a newstate party chair.
For the first time in 20, I'msorry, 13 years Since I've been
involved with the DemocraticParty, chairman Hinojosa is the
only chair.
Party chairman hinojosa is theonly chair that I've known.
(01:30):
So I yeah, I don't know whocame before, but we will know
who's going to come after after.
There's three people topcontenders at least that are
vying for it and we'll play aclip here in a minute from the
Texas Tribune where they'retalking about that.
But so that that's just tocover the chairmanship until the
(02:00):
state convention in 2026.
And that's when we'll pick thestate chair.
This is only to fill aunexpired term because of the
resignation, so that's going on.
Tomorrow Also, I'll be going toHouston to a Victory Fund
champagne brunch.
I've always been invited sincebeing elected and so this will
(02:23):
be my third year going down toHouston and participating in
that.
It's a good group, goodorganization.
Victory Fund trains andsupports many LGBT candidates
across the country and Texas, soI'm happy to be a part of
(02:45):
Victory and excited for theChampagne Brunch this coming
weekend.
The next thing that I want totalk about is last weekend, the
Texas Democratic Party and theTexas AFL-CIO in Killeen.
(03:09):
We're in Killeen for a workers'town hall and it was a really
great opportunity for people tocome and speak and vent.
They invited three congressmenCarter, pfluger and Williams.
(03:30):
Obviously, none of them showedup to answer to all these
federal employees that have beenterminated or now they have to
do five things email and send itin.
Five things you've done thisweek and it's scary if you know
(03:56):
you've put all your time intoworking and now working for the
federal government because ofthe security and you're giving
back to the country.
A lot of them are veterans, butthey're on the chopping block
and they're under attack by thisadministration.
And so we were able to gatherand I was surprised how many
(04:21):
people showed up.
I think probably around 150 to200 people showed up, and that
was simultaneously while therewas another event going on in
Belton for Indivisible put it onor Indivisible put it on, but
(04:51):
it was for another town hall,for John Carter, because John
Carter hasn't held one inforever, and 100 people plus
showed up to that one in Belton.
So I think that will show youthe motivation and the anger of
the people here in Bell Countyand why it's important to hold
(05:11):
these things.
Just yesterday, beto O'Rourkeand Governor Walz did one in
Fort Bend County.
They said thousands of peopleshowed up to that On a wet,
rainy night, thursday night.
(05:31):
So there's definitely a lot ofanxiety, a lot of energy out
there and people are ready to dosomething and I don't blame
them.
Cuts, cuts, cuts.
You see cuts happeningeverywhere and it's going to
(05:53):
affect it's already affectingInfrastructure projects.
It's going to affect Our mostvulnerable people Through
Medicaid cuts, through SNAP cuts, and that's going to fall on
local jurisdictions, localtaxing authorities, the counties
(06:16):
, the cities to meet that need,because those people are going
to be here in our community andthey're going to need help and
we got to be there to help thembecause that's the right thing
to do.
So, anyways, let's get back tothe workers town hall.
(06:38):
What I want to play for you isthe vice president for AFGE
District 8, ms Cheryl Aliano.
She lives here in HarkerHeights, bell County resident,
and she gave a great speech, solet me pull that up for you so
(07:01):
you can hear part of it.
So, with that said, I want tointroduce the Regional Vice
President or Vice President ofAFGE, ms Cheryl Eliano.
Cheryl Eliano (07:13):
Thank you, Thank you and good afternoon, good
afternoon.
Good afternoon, good afternoon.
I am Cheryl L Hano.
I am National Vice President ofthe US.
(07:35):
I need to turn up the volume.
We have a couple of people uphere that are going to speak to
you, that are directly impactedby what is happening to our
federal workers and all of yousitting here who don't know.
Federal workers are under attacktoday, but when we are under
attack, we know how to fightback.
(07:57):
So thank you for the invitationon today.
And someone asked well, this isgoing to be like those town
halls you see on TV.
That's not the plan, that's forsure.
It's all about having aconversation and giving out
(08:17):
information, isn't that right?
So, sisters and brothers andcommunity members, we're here to
send a message, even thoughthey're not here we're going to
send a message, even thoughthey're not here.
We're gonna send them a messageanyhow, a loud and clear message
to our representatives and onCapitol Hill, especially the
representatives Carter, williamsand Flewer, and that message is
this save the civil service andto save the country.
(08:40):
I want you to know that, all ofyou sitting here, it may not,
you may not feel it right nowthat it's impacting you, but I'm
going to tell you, like Dr Kingsaid, we may have all came in
on different ships, but we're inthe same boat now, and so, as
(09:01):
you all know, we have apro-apartheid South African
billionaire determined to do tothe United States what he did to
Twitter turning it into anX-rated obscenity.
Only in America can you becalled a business genius when
you just borrowed and spent $44billion and lost 8% of it.
(09:24):
Trust me, he's no genius.
And we are threatened.
And we are threatened by apresident who thinks he's a king
but I only know one king.
I only know one king, andthat's him Jesus Amen.
Also thinks he's aster or aboss or something, but he
(09:49):
violates the law and theConstitution without a thought.
We ask you all to stand up tosupport and defend the civil
service and the country on.
Today, use your voice to stopthis president from canceling
programs you've authorized andfunding you've approved.
We have to demand the executivebranch uphold every collective
(10:11):
bargaining agreement in force,every single one of them.
Members of Congress mustsupport and defend the people
they represent, support anddefend their rights and freedoms
, their health and well-being,their safety and security.
And please remember this nobodynobody voted for Elon Musk.
(10:31):
Nobody voted for this president.
Americans didn't vote tosabotage our veterans by cutting
VA staff.
In firing more than 80,000workers, a third of whom are
veterans themselves, willdestroy the VA's ability to
fulfill the PAC Act's promisesto veterans who either died or
(10:55):
became ill as a result ofexposure to burn pits, agent
Orange and other types ofsubsets.
Most of these employees werehired explicitly to provide the
benefits provided in the PAC Act.
The VA has been severelyunderstaffed for many years,
resulting in long wait times forveterans in need, but they've
(11:18):
landed the employees that areworking here every day.
The Dodge plunder of career VAemployees, adding to the illegal
mass firings of thousands ofprobationary employees, can only
make matters worse.
They didn't vote to make airtravel dangerous again, cutting
TSA and air traffic controlstaffers, taking away the
(11:41):
collective bargaining rights ofthose same TSA officers.
We do have a TSA spokespersonfor today from Alkaline Airport.
Let's give her a hand.
The ALTD will not test untilbasic dignity and rights of
workers at TSA are acknowledgedby the government once again and
(12:05):
rights of workers at TSA areacknowledged by the government
once again.
They didn't vote to putcontaminated meat on supermarket
shelves by firing inspectors.
They didn't vote to get cancerfrom dirty air and water because
EPA workers were all kicked tothe curb.
They didn't vote to fire thelabor department staff who keep
workplaces safe and make sureemployers pay their workers.
(12:26):
They didn't vote to put our warfighters at the mercy of
contractors after they fired theOD civilians.
They didn't vote for thedismantling of the Department of
Education.
Over 60 percent of Americansoppose this idea.
The Department of Educationplays a crucial role supporting
our students and their familiesat schools and universities in
(12:49):
every community across thenation, and President Trump's
directive to eliminate thissmall but mighty agency would
destroy our education system anddevastate generations of
students.
We have a spokesperson also fromthe Department of Education.
This executive order is nothingmore than an illegal overreach
(13:18):
and executive power designed tounemployed dedicated civil
servants and disseminate thosecritical services they provide
to millions of Americans acrossthis country, and they sure as
heck didn't go to quotetraumatize America's patriotic
(13:38):
and heroic federal employees,30% of whom are veterans.
How many of y'all said y'allveterans out there, who is one
less paid and more free than weever get in the private sector,
in order to uphold theConstitution and serve the
American people?
(13:58):
So to our Republicanrepresentatives we invited you
here.
We are asking you to upholdyour oath of office.
They're not here, but they'regoing to get this message.
Don't put your conscience in ablind truss or check your spine
at the door.
Don't aid and abate a lawless,corrupt administration held bent
(14:20):
on destroying government'sability to serve the people To
our.
Democratic members of Congresshere in the great state of Texas
, use every tool in your toolboxto put sand in the gears of
Musk and Trump's assault onAmerica.
When the debt ceiling needs tobe raised, tell them you'll be
glad to help them if, and onlyif, the Trump administration
(14:44):
stops breaking the law.
That means upholding allcollective bargaining agreements
, spending every dollar Congressappropriates, stopping all
firings, protecting the civilservice system and getting Elon
Musk's ruby paws out of our debt.
Use the power of the purse.
(15:07):
Number one defund Dodge Gold,whatever you want.
Number two defund the fatfederal contract that fund Musk
Empire.
Number three defund thisadministration's union busting
(15:28):
and put our people back to workfor America.
We're asking them to havecourage.
This is what they need.
Courage is what the momentcalls for.
How many of you know it takescourage on today?
Because, even without speakingagainst this administration,
they're ready to come againstyou just for speaking against
(15:49):
what they're doing.
But they might as well bring iton because we may.
So, sisters and brothers, let'sstand together in solidarity
with everything on the line.
Let's speak out.
Let's speak out together, marchtogether, fight together, rise
(16:13):
up together Together.
Let's get out there and tellour elected officials to stop
the attempt of this coup.
This is an assault on ourdemocracy, right now, at this
pivotal moment, before it's toolate.
It's now or never, and let'smake sure we can tell our
grandchildren that whendemocracy was on the line, we
answered the call.
So I want you to know when wefight, we what.
(16:33):
We win.
When we fight we what we winwhen we fight we what we win.
Now, let's get out there andlet's kick some butt.
Give him a hand Now.
I know that was just a littlebit hard to hear, you know you
(16:55):
probably had to be in a quietplace and turn your volume up,
but it was definitely worthlistening to.
Ms Eliano is a great speaker,very passionate about workers'
rights for federal employees,and I don't blame her.
I mean, she's been doing it fora long time.
And this money, these positions, these agencies were created by
(17:20):
Congress.
They are funded and I justdon't see why members of
Congress are just ceding theirpower to the president and not
even challenging anything, justletting it go.
And so it's definitely scarytimes with what is getting by.
(17:46):
But you know, beto saidsomething in his town hall
yesterday that that resonatedwith me, and what he said is you
know, we're either going tofight or we're going to
surrender, and I'm going tofight.
When democracy is on the line,you either fight or you
(18:08):
surrender.
Which one are you going tochoose?
I know I've already chosen I'mgoing to fight.
So, with that said, I want totouch on a subject that it's
something I've been working onfor several months doing
(18:30):
research, talking to people,going out in the community,
visiting other areas to seewhere they're being successful,
where they're not beingsuccessful, and especially now,
with everything going on in thefederal government proposed cuts
(18:52):
to Medicaid that's going tohurt.
It's going to hurt our mostvulnerable populations, and so
let's go through a whole historyof what I'm talking about.
So you clearly understand theoptions.
(19:14):
You clearly understand theoptions and, like I said, this
is just going to be the firstepisode where I talk about this.
There are definitely going tobe more opportunities for
discussion, but this is going toset the foundation.
So you know what the county isdoing in the past, what we've
(19:36):
been doing, and then thepossibilities of the future.
So let's go down this long butbeneficial road and let's start
with our budget.
Actually, before we start withthe budget, let's look at some
(19:57):
laws that apply.
There's two things that applyfor the indigent health care for
a county.
We have the Texas Constitutionthat requires it, and then the
Health and Safety Code, chapter61, it really goes into the
operations and the programbenefits and services of a
(20:24):
county indigent health careprogram laws that are governing
the county health care program.
So, according to the statute,8% of the total budget for the
(20:49):
county the general revenuebudget, is dedicated, required,
mandated by law to serve theindigent population of the
(21:10):
county hospital or a countyhospital district.
Then those requirements go tothose entities.
But in Bell County we do nothave a public hospital or a
(21:34):
county hospital district, sothat is the county's
responsibility to administerthat indigent health care
program.
So if we look, there's a coupleof things that the county does.
So we have the local providerparticipation fund.
(21:55):
That is a tax that the countyis authorized to levy against
health care, all health care inthe county.
So we do that.
You don't see it on your bill.
But the county levies a tax, a6% tax, on all health care in
(22:19):
the county and what that'ssupposed to do is authorizes the
county is like a pass-through.
And that tax that we give tothe healthcare, to the hospitals
, that comes to the county, thecounty sends it up to the
(22:42):
federal government and we getreimbursed and it doubles,
triples some of the money thatcomes in, doubles, triples some
of the money that comes in andthat's to help offset Medicaid,
(23:03):
medicare expansion, that Texasdid not do so and that LPPF they
call it.
That's actually on the choppingblock.
With this administration.
They're looking at cutting that.
So if they cut that, bellCounty last year got over $180
million reimbursed to the county, given to the local hospitals
(23:29):
to help offset the cost ofwhat's called uncompensated care
.
So if you go to a hospital theycannot deny you care, but we
don't want people going toemergency room for care because
that's the most expensive typeof care.
But anyways, that money helpsoffset that uncompensated care.
(23:51):
So if someone goes there don'thave any insurance.
That's how they supposed to getsome of that money back.
It doesn't make them whole, butthat's how it was supposed to
get some of that money back isthrough the LP, lppf, um tax and
um.
That with the currentadministration that's on the
(24:13):
chopping block.
Uh, also, they're going to bereducing Medicaid.
Those funds help our mostvulnerable people get health
care and if they reduce Medicaidand the LPPF, that's only going
(24:34):
to strain services to thecounty because we're required to
by law to take care of indigenthealth care, the indigent in
our county.
So LPPF, indigent health care,8% of the county budget.
(24:55):
Right, you're following me.
And so what does the county dowith that money?
Now we'll kind of go into thebudget a little bit.
This year's budget for 2025,fy24-25,.
(25:20):
Let me go to the page One.
Second, one second.
I believe it's going to bearound.
Yeah, there we go $160 millionfor total general fund revenue
(25:42):
for Bell County.
So the county gets around $10million roughly to do our
indigent healthcare program.
So what does the county do withthat money?
Well, everyone in the jail andtypically our jail population
(26:08):
runs around 1,150 somewhere inthere daily population, everyone
in jail by law is consideredindigent, so all the health care
(26:30):
in the jail is covered by thehealth care program, the
indigent health care program.
So just right, there alone andit takes half of that $8 million
, $9 million.
That's going to change a littlebit because we didn't budget
(26:54):
for that.
So we had, I think, $3 to $4million budgeted for our health
care program in the Bell Countyjail.
Our contractor that we had quitcanceled the contract last year
because they said that they canno longer give us health care
(27:14):
at the contracted price.
So they canceled the contract.
So we had to go out to bid.
The bid that we received wasdouble that, almost $10 million.
So we're going to have toalready raise taxes just to
cover that additional expensefor our health care that we
(27:36):
didn't budget for.
So half the money is alreadygone to the jail to cover those
medical services in the jail.
The other portion of the moneywhat is remaining is what is
spent in the community portionof the money.
(27:57):
What is remaining is what isspent in the community.
So right now we have anindigent health care I guess
administration where ourdirector manages all the claims
coming in, onboarding people.
There's requirements that youhave to do to be a recipient of
(28:21):
indigent health care services.
So there are certain thresholdsthat you have to meet.
Outside of that there isoptional care, but I think the
county has moved away for anyoptional care.
So there's basic services thatthe county is required to
provide and outside of that,nothing else.
(28:46):
Unless we want to, unless we'regoing to pay for it, the state
is not going to reimburseanything, is not going to
reimburse anything and the bylawin Chapter 61 of the Health
Code gives us that roughly$30,000 per qualified indigent
(29:08):
person.
That is in the program.
So $30,000 a person has tospend for their health care in a
year.
That's medications, that isappointments, preventative care.
So just to give you an idea,what does the county do with
(29:34):
that other portion of the money,the other half that is for the
community.
So we have two health careclinics, two clinics the Greater
Killeen Community Clinic andthe Temple Community Clinic.
Those two clinics are, Ibelieve, non-profits.
They operate on their own.
(29:55):
They've been in existence forquite some time both of them,
and so the county partnered upwith those two community clinics
and we give both clinics thesame amount of money.
The same amount of money.
We give them $500,000 each tohelp administer health care
(30:19):
services for the county,indigent health care services.
They're able to do it a littlebit cheaper and it's been a good
program.
I think it's been doing it forabout five years now.
So it's been a good program.
I think we've been doing it forabout five years now.
So it's been a good program forthe clinics and for the county
(30:42):
because we're able to see morepeople.
The rest of that money that isleft over and I believe it's
like $2 million that's forclaims.
So if there are, say, you go tothe Killeen Community Clinic
and you need a specialty, well,obviously they don't have any
(31:03):
specialties at the communityclinic, so you've got to get
referred to one of the localhospitals.
All these hospitals arefor-profit but they're private
hospitals.
All these hospitals arefor-profit but they're private
hospitals.
They're not any type of publichospital.
So we have Baylor Scott White,we have Seton Ascension, then we
(31:30):
also have the VA, we have Metronot Metroplex Darnell.
So we have a lot of hospitalshere locally and that's where
some of that LPPF comes in.
The uncompensated care comes in,and so what?
(31:52):
What I'm seeing is that ourneed is starting to grow,
continues to grow.
The county is getting larger.
Our budget is capped.
Each year we can only go 3.5%above what we taxed the previous
(32:22):
year.
That's our cap above the no newrevenue rate is what they call
it.
So the no new revenue rate isthe same amount of money that
you got last year, whatever thattax rate would be.
So obviously, as your countygrows and develops and gets
(32:59):
subdivided, but still keep thesame revenue because you have
more developed property comingon board.
So that's the no new revenuerate.
We can only go three and a halfpercent above the no new revenue
rate before we have to dowhat's called the voter approved
(33:21):
rate.
So anything above the no newrevenue rate, the three and a
half percent above the no newrevenue rate, we have to take it
to the voters.
And you know, obviously it'sgoing to have to be something
compelling.
Obviously it's going to have tobe something compelling.
I don't think voters are goingto approve.
Hey, we need more jailers, weneed more road money maybe, but
(33:51):
we haven't done it here.
I think the last one that I'maware of that went above the no
new revenue rate, over the voterapproved rate, and went to the
voters was Harris County and thevoters actually approved that.
So, and there may be othercounties that have done that, I
(34:12):
just hadn't seen it in the news.
But that's an option for us ifthat's what we want to do.
But I do know that I don'tthink there's any appetite on
the commissioners court togamble on the voters on raising
taxes because people don't liketo increase property taxes.
(34:38):
So what would happen is, if itdoes not get approved, a
voter-approved tax rate, thenyou're stuck at the no new
revenue rate.
So that's kind of the catchthat we're in with increased
demand for indigent healthservices, with increased demand
(34:59):
for indigent health services.
But there's another option andthat's what I've been working on
probably the last six months,talking with other agencies,
other counties on how they do it.
(35:20):
I'm still doing my research,but I think we have an option
here that we could choose from.
In Bell County, if you remember,I was talking about County
Hospital District and I thinkthat's going to be our answer I
do see some disparity ofservices across the county, from
(35:44):
the east side of the county tothe types of services available
on the west side of the county,and that's an issue.
That's an issue.
The level of service is not thesame.
The cooperation is not the same.
Hopefully we can address someof those issues, but, as of
(36:08):
right now, it is an issue that Isee Access to care, the same
level of care to our citizens.
It needs to be standard.
The type of care that you getand support you get on one side
(36:29):
of the county should be the samethat you get on the other side
of the county, and that's whatI'm going to strive for and I
think that's what this proposalthat I'm going to be bringing up
would do.
So what I'm talking about is acounty hospital district.
A hospital district is a taxingentity but, as I mentioned
(36:55):
already, you're already gettingtaxed entity.
But, as I mentioned already,you're already getting taxed.
8% of our general revenue,which is taxes is for indigent
health care.
So that would get cut off fromthe county and go to a new
(37:20):
hospital district Any type ofpublic health.
Bell County has a publichospital district.
Any type of public health.
Bell County has a public healthdistrict.
That would go to the hospitaldistrict as well.
Then the jail contract, thejail health care, that would go.
Those three things would all gounder this umbrella of a
(37:41):
hospital district.
They also could do ambulanceservice.
As of right now in the westside of the county there's a
lack of ambulance service.
We have to get ambulanceservice from Nolanville and
that's only if it's availableand that could be 30 to 40
(38:02):
minutes away for the TurnbowRanch area, because City of
Killeen said they're not goingto go out and service Turnbow
Ranch.
So we have this county hospitaldistrict proposal.
(38:25):
There are three ways that we canand by we I mean us can create
a hospital district in BellCounty.
The first way is Chapter 281 ofthe Health and Safety Code,
that is, hospital districts incounties of at least 190,000
people.
Hospital districts in countiesof at least 190,000 people,
obviously Bell County.
We're nearing 400,000, and wewould qualify under that section
(38:46):
of the hospital district.
It's going to require a vote.
So the commissioner's court caneither call for an election or
a petition can be given to thecommissioner's court can either
call for an election or apetition can be given to the
commissioner's court for thecalling of a vote for a hospital
(39:08):
district.
This method would create ahospital district taxing
authority and the board, thehospital manager, district board
members would be appointed bythe Bell County Commissioner's
(39:30):
Court.
A lot of the larger countiesoperate in this model Travis
County, they have Central Health.
Harris County, they haveCentral Health.
Harris County, they have HarrisHealth.
Dallas County, they haveParkland Hospital, that's their
health district.
Bexar County, they haveUniversity Health.
(39:54):
So all those large hospitalsoperate.
Hospital districts operate inthis manner.
There's another way.
We have Chapter 283 HospitalDistrict and that's where it's
(40:16):
still an election is called, butthe board, the district, is the
commissioner's court, theofficers are the county's three
(40:48):
and a half percent cap, if youkind of understand what I'm
talking about.
That way, like I said, it's itstill calls for an election and
the commissioner's court would,would call for for that.
I don't know if there's apetition for this model.
(41:10):
I don't think so.
I think this is just that thecommissioner's court um would
call for it, yeah or no, it says, or presentation of a petition
creation.
Okay.
So in this model it could bedone the same way, either by
(41:31):
petition or by thecommissioner's calling the other
way.
The third and final way chaptertwo, 86 of the health and safety
code, and this is uh titledhospital districts created by
voter approval.
So in this model, uh, and andit is out in some other counties
(41:55):
, uh, midland County for one ofthem uh, for instance, they have
a hospital district and alltheir board members are elected,
so they would be elected.
This one has a little bithigher threshold, so the
commissioner's court can callfor the vote, call for an
(42:25):
election, or a petition couldcome in with 3% of the total
registered voters in theproposed district.
So, for instance, in BellCounty that would probably be
about 7,000 signatures and thenwe would have to call for an
(42:58):
election.
Doing it this way, they wouldbe elected during the same time
that you do elections for citycouncil and school board races.
So those are our three optionsto create a hospital district.
Let's keep in mind the hospitaldistrict will be a taxing
authority.
(43:18):
You are already getting taxedfor indigent health care, so
it's not like it's going to beadditional money out of your
pocket.
It could.
I'm not going to lie and tellyou that it wouldn't.
And what I mean by that is soif the county is already taxing
(43:46):
you 8% and a hospital districtis created, that 8% goes to and
by 8% I mean the dollars, theactual dollars that were levied
would go to the hospitaldistrict.
The county's tax rate is stillthe same, so you would expect
for the county to lower its taxrate accordingly 8%.
(44:08):
So that is just something thatyou're going to have to be
mindful of to the electedofficials, to let them know that
, hey, if we support a hospitaldistrict, then we expect our
county tax rate to be lowered,and that's something I would
(44:30):
support.
Are there a lot of needs outthere?
Yeah, there are a lot of needsout there.
Are there a lot of needs outthere?
Yeah, there are a lot of needsout there.
But we need especially with ourcuts that are coming to
Medicaid, our cuts that arealready happening to SNAP, to VA
(44:54):
there's going to be a lot ofneed and the LPPF getting cut
we're going to have to step upand be able to take care of
ourselves, and I think this is agood answer.
It's a good start.
Like I said, there's a lot ofhospital districts out there.
This would not be a new ornovel approach to helping out
(45:22):
the needy.
Our largest counties in thestate of Texas has a hospital
district.
Our smallest counties in thestate have a hospital district,
and now it's time for BellCounty and its residents to have
a hospital district.
And now it's time for BellCounty and its residents to have
a hospital district to takecare of our most vulnerable
(45:45):
population.
So that is what I plan to bringto the voters in November of
2026.
A hospital district, and it'sgoing to be up to the voters to
decide if that's something thatthey care about.
(46:06):
Is that something that they cansupport?
They're supporting it now withtheir taxes, with their taxes,
and I think that the people ofBell County will step up to the
plate.
I think they will vote for ahospital district and I'm
(46:32):
looking forward to going out andtelling people the benefits of
the district and what we havenow and how it will improve
lives, save lives and save moneyduring the process.
So, anyways, I got to pack, getready to go, enjoy your day and
(46:56):
we will talk to you next week.
We'll be you next time.
Welcome .
You're listening to the LouieMinor Show.
I'm your host, bell County.
Commissioner Louie Minor, todayis March 29, 2025.
We are back.
Had a lot of stuff been goingon that I want to catch you up
on.
Then I want to talk to youabout some priorities for 2026.
(00:24):
You up on and then I want totalk to you about some
priorities for 2026.
There's no commissioner's courtmeeting on Monday because it's
the fifth Monday of the month.
So the next commissioner'scourt will be April 7th and I'm
sure it'll be a lot on theagenda to cover, so I'll be
anxious to talk about that onceit comes out.
(00:46):
But so let's talk about what'sgoing on.
This weekend Down in Austinthey're having an SDEC meeting
that's the executive committeefor the Democratic Party, and
because of Chair Hinojosastepping down and resigning,
(01:09):
we're going to be getting a newstate party chair.
For the first time in 20, I'msorry, 13 years Since I've been
involved with the DemocraticParty, chairman Hinojosa is the
only chair.
Party chairman hinojosa is theonly chair that I've known.
(01:30):
So I yeah, I don't know whocame before, but we will know
who's going to come after after.
There's three people topcontenders at least that are
vying for it and we'll play aclip here in a minute from the
Texas Tribune where they'retalking about that.
But so that that's just tocover the chairmanship until the
(02:00):
state convention in 2026.
And that's when we'll pick thestate chair.
This is only to fill aunexpired term because of the
resignation, so that's going on.
Tomorrow Also, I'll be going toHouston to a Victory Fund
champagne brunch.
I've always been invited sincebeing elected and so this will
(02:23):
be my third year going down toHouston and participating in
that.
It's a good group, goodorganization.
Victory Fund trains andsupports many LGBT candidates
across the country and Texas, soI'm happy to be a part of
(02:45):
Victory and excited for theChampagne Brunch this coming
weekend.
The next thing that I want totalk about is last weekend, the
Texas Democratic Party and theTexas AFL-CIO in Killeen.
(03:09):
We're in Killeen for a workers'town hall and it was a really
great opportunity for people tocome and speak and vent.
They invited three congressmenCarter, pfluger and Williams.
(03:30):
Obviously, none of them showedup to answer to all these
federal employees that have beenterminated or now they have to
do five things email and send itin.
Five things you've done thisweek and it's scary if you know
(03:56):
you've put all your time intoworking and now working for the
federal government because ofthe security and you're giving
back to the country.
A lot of them are veterans, butthey're on the chopping block
and they're under attack by thisadministration.
And so we were able to gatherand I was surprised how many
(04:21):
people showed up.
I think probably around 150 to200 people showed up, and that
was simultaneously while therewas another event going on in
Belton for Indivisible put it onor Indivisible put it on, but
(04:51):
it was for another town hall,for John Carter, because John
Carter hasn't held one inforever, and 100 people plus
showed up to that one in Belton.
So I think that will show youthe motivation and the anger of
the people here in Bell Countyand why it's important to hold
(05:11):
these things.
Just yesterday, beto O'Rourkeand Governor Walz did one in
Fort Bend County.
They said thousands of peopleshowed up to that On a wet,
rainy night, thursday night.
(05:31):
So there's definitely a lot ofanxiety, a lot of energy out
there and people are ready to dosomething and I don't blame
them.
Cuts, cuts, cuts.
You see cuts happeningeverywhere and it's going to
(05:53):
affect it's already affectingInfrastructure projects.
It's going to affect Our mostvulnerable people Through
Medicaid cuts, through SNAP cuts, and that's going to fall on
local jurisdictions, localtaxing authorities, the counties
(06:16):
, the cities to meet that need,because those people are going
to be here in our community andthey're going to need help and
we got to be there to help thembecause that's the right thing
to do.
So, anyways, let's get back tothe workers town hall.
(06:38):
What I want to play for you isthe vice president for AFGE
District 8, ms Cheryl Aliano.
She lives here in HarkerHeights, bell County resident,
and she gave a great speech, solet me pull that up for you so
(07:01):
you can hear part of it.
So, with that said, I want tointroduce the Regional Vice
President or Vice President ofAFGE, ms Cheryl Eliano.
Cheryl Eliano (07:13):
Thank you, Thank you and good afternoon, good
afternoon.
Good afternoon, good afternoon.
I am Cheryl L Hano.
I am National Vice President ofthe US.
(07:35):
I need to turn up the volume.
We have a couple of people uphere that are going to speak to
you, that are directly impactedby what is happening to our
federal workers and all of yousitting here who don't know.
Federal workers are under attacktoday, but when we are under
attack, we know how to fightback.
(07:57):
So thank you for the invitationon today.
And someone asked well, this isgoing to be like those town
halls you see on TV.
That's not the plan, that's forsure.
It's all about having aconversation and giving out
(08:17):
information, isn't that right?
So, sisters and brothers andcommunity members, we're here to
send a message, even thoughthey're not here we're going to
send a message, even thoughthey're not here.
We're gonna send them a messageanyhow, a loud and clear message
to our representatives and onCapitol Hill, especially the
representatives Carter, williamsand Flewer, and that message is
this save the civil service andto save the country.
(08:40):
I want you to know that, all ofyou sitting here, it may not,
you may not feel it right nowthat it's impacting you, but I'm
going to tell you, like Dr Kingsaid, we may have all came in
on different ships, but we're inthe same boat now, and so, as
(09:01):
you all know, we have apro-apartheid South African
billionaire determined to do tothe United States what he did to
Twitter turning it into anX-rated obscenity.
Only in America can you becalled a business genius when
you just borrowed and spent $44billion and lost 8% of it.
(09:24):
Trust me, he's no genius.
And we are threatened.
And we are threatened by apresident who thinks he's a king
but I only know one king.
I only know one king, andthat's him Jesus Amen.
Also thinks he's aster or aboss or something, but he
(09:49):
violates the law and theConstitution without a thought.
We ask you all to stand up tosupport and defend the civil
service and the country on.
Today, use your voice to stopthis president from canceling
programs you've authorized andfunding you've approved.
We have to demand the executivebranch uphold every collective
(10:11):
bargaining agreement in force,every single one of them.
Members of Congress mustsupport and defend the people
they represent, support anddefend their rights and freedoms
, their health and well-being,their safety and security.
And please remember this nobodynobody voted for Elon Musk.
(10:31):
Nobody voted for this president.
Americans didn't vote tosabotage our veterans by cutting
VA staff.
In firing more than 80,000workers, a third of whom are
veterans themselves, willdestroy the VA's ability to
fulfill the PAC Act's promisesto veterans who either died or
(10:55):
became ill as a result ofexposure to burn pits, agent
Orange and other types ofsubsets.
Most of these employees werehired explicitly to provide the
benefits provided in the PAC Act.
The VA has been severelyunderstaffed for many years,
resulting in long wait times forveterans in need, but they've
(11:18):
landed the employees that areworking here every day.
The Dodge plunder of career VAemployees, adding to the illegal
mass firings of thousands ofprobationary employees, can only
make matters worse.
They didn't vote to make airtravel dangerous again, cutting
TSA and air traffic controlstaffers, taking away the
(11:41):
collective bargaining rights ofthose same TSA officers.
We do have a TSA spokespersonfor today from Alkaline Airport.
Let's give her a hand.
The ALTD will not test untilbasic dignity and rights of
workers at TSA are acknowledgedby the government once again and
(12:05):
rights of workers at TSA areacknowledged by the government
once again.
They didn't vote to putcontaminated meat on supermarket
shelves by firing inspectors.
They didn't vote to get cancerfrom dirty air and water because
EPA workers were all kicked tothe curb.
They didn't vote to fire thelabor department staff who keep
workplaces safe and make sureemployers pay their workers.
(12:26):
They didn't vote to put our warfighters at the mercy of
contractors after they fired theOD civilians.
They didn't vote for thedismantling of the Department of
Education.
Over 60 percent of Americansoppose this idea.
The Department of Educationplays a crucial role supporting
our students and their familiesat schools and universities in
(12:49):
every community across thenation, and President Trump's
directive to eliminate thissmall but mighty agency would
destroy our education system anddevastate generations of
students.
We have a spokesperson also fromthe Department of Education.
This executive order is nothingmore than an illegal overreach
(13:18):
and executive power designed tounemployed dedicated civil
servants and disseminate thosecritical services they provide
to millions of Americans acrossthis country, and they sure as
heck didn't go to quotetraumatize America's patriotic
(13:38):
and heroic federal employees,30% of whom are veterans.
How many of y'all said y'allveterans out there, who is one
less paid and more free than weever get in the private sector,
in order to uphold theConstitution and serve the
American people?
(13:58):
So to our Republicanrepresentatives we invited you
here.
We are asking you to upholdyour oath of office.
They're not here, but they'regoing to get this message.
Don't put your conscience in ablind truss or check your spine
at the door.
Don't aid and abate a lawless,corrupt administration held bent
(14:20):
on destroying government'sability to serve the people To
our.
Democratic members of Congresshere in the great state of Texas
, use every tool in your toolboxto put sand in the gears of
Musk and Trump's assault onAmerica.
When the debt ceiling needs tobe raised, tell them you'll be
glad to help them if, and onlyif, the Trump administration
(14:44):
stops breaking the law.
That means upholding allcollective bargaining agreements
, spending every dollar Congressappropriates, stopping all
firings, protecting the civilservice system and getting Elon
Musk's ruby paws out of our debt.
Use the power of the purse.
(15:07):
Number one defund Dodge Gold,whatever you want.
Number two defund the fatfederal contract that fund Musk
Empire.
Number three defund thisadministration's union busting
(15:28):
and put our people back to workfor America.
We're asking them to havecourage.
This is what they need.
Courage is what the momentcalls for.
How many of you know it takescourage on today?
Because, even without speakingagainst this administration,
they're ready to come againstyou just for speaking against
(15:49):
what they're doing.
But they might as well bring iton because we may.
So, sisters and brothers, let'sstand together in solidarity
with everything on the line.
Let's speak out.
Let's speak out together, marchtogether, fight together, rise
(16:13):
up together Together.
Let's get out there and tellour elected officials to stop
the attempt of this coup.
This is an assault on ourdemocracy, right now, at this
pivotal moment, before it's toolate.
It's now or never, and let'smake sure we can tell our
grandchildren that whendemocracy was on the line, we
answered the call.
So I want you to know when wefight, we what.
(16:33):
We win.
When we fight we what we winwhen we fight we what we win.
Now, let's get out there andlet's kick some butt.
Give him a hand Now.
I know that was just a littlebit hard to hear, you know you
(16:55):
probably had to be in a quietplace and turn your volume up,
but it was definitely worthlistening to.
Ms Eliano is a great speaker,very passionate about workers'
rights for federal employees,and I don't blame her.
I mean, she's been doing it fora long time.
And this money, these positions, these agencies were created by
(17:20):
Congress.
They are funded and I justdon't see why members of
Congress are just ceding theirpower to the president and not
even challenging anything, justletting it go.
And so it's definitely scarytimes with what is getting by.
(17:46):
But you know, beto saidsomething in his town hall
yesterday that that resonatedwith me, and what he said is you
know, we're either going tofight or we're going to
surrender, and I'm going tofight.
When democracy is on the line,you either fight or you
(18:08):
surrender.
Which one are you going tochoose?
I know I've already chosen I'mgoing to fight.
So, with that said, I want totouch on a subject that it's
something I've been working onfor several months doing
(18:30):
research, talking to people,going out in the community,
visiting other areas to seewhere they're being successful,
where they're not beingsuccessful, and especially now,
with everything going on in thefederal government proposed cuts
(18:52):
to Medicaid that's going tohurt.
It's going to hurt our mostvulnerable populations, and so
let's go through a whole historyof what I'm talking about.
So you clearly understand theoptions.
(19:14):
You clearly understand theoptions and, like I said, this
is just going to be the firstepisode where I talk about this.
There are definitely going tobe more opportunities for
discussion, but this is going toset the foundation.
So you know what the county isdoing in the past, what we've
(19:36):
been doing, and then thepossibilities of the future.
So let's go down this long butbeneficial road and let's start
with our budget.
Actually, before we start withthe budget, let's look at some
(19:57):
laws that apply.
There's two things that applyfor the indigent health care for
a county.
We have the Texas Constitutionthat requires it, and then the
Health and Safety Code, chapter61, it really goes into the
operations and the programbenefits and services of a
(20:24):
county indigent health careprogram laws that are governing
the county health care program.
So, according to the statute,8% of the total budget for the
(20:49):
county the general revenuebudget, is dedicated, required,
mandated by law to serve theindigent population of the
(21:10):
county hospital or a countyhospital district.
Then those requirements go tothose entities.
But in Bell County we do nothave a public hospital or a
(21:34):
county hospital district, sothat is the county's
responsibility to administerthat indigent health care
program.
So if we look, there's a coupleof things that the county does.
So we have the local providerparticipation fund.
(21:55):
That is a tax that the countyis authorized to levy against
health care, all health care inthe county.
So we do that.
You don't see it on your bill.
But the county levies a tax, a6% tax, on all health care in
(22:19):
the county and what that'ssupposed to do is authorizes the
county is like a pass-through.
And that tax that we give tothe healthcare, to the hospitals
, that comes to the county, thecounty sends it up to the
(22:42):
federal government and we getreimbursed and it doubles,
triples some of the money thatcomes in, doubles, triples some
of the money that comes in andthat's to help offset Medicaid,
(23:03):
medicare expansion, that Texasdid not do so and that LPPF they
call it.
That's actually on the choppingblock.
With this administration.
They're looking at cutting that.
So if they cut that, bellCounty last year got over $180
million reimbursed to the county, given to the local hospitals
(23:29):
to help offset the cost ofwhat's called uncompensated care
.
So if you go to a hospital theycannot deny you care, but we
don't want people going toemergency room for care because
that's the most expensive typeof care.
But anyways, that money helpsoffset that uncompensated care.
(23:51):
So if someone goes there don'thave any insurance.
That's how they supposed to getsome of that money back.
It doesn't make them whole, butthat's how it was supposed to
get some of that money back isthrough the LP, lppf, um tax and
um.
That with the currentadministration that's on the
(24:13):
chopping block.
Uh, also, they're going to bereducing Medicaid.
Those funds help our mostvulnerable people get health
care and if they reduce Medicaidand the LPPF, that's only going
(24:34):
to strain services to thecounty because we're required to
by law to take care of indigenthealth care, the indigent in
our county.
So LPPF, indigent health care,8% of the county budget.
(24:55):
Right, you're following me.
And so what does the county dowith that money?
Now we'll kind of go into thebudget a little bit.
This year's budget for 2025,fy24-25,.
(25:20):
Let me go to the page One.
Second, one second.
I believe it's going to bearound.
Yeah, there we go $160 millionfor total general fund revenue
(25:42):
for Bell County.
So the county gets around $10million roughly to do our
indigent healthcare program.
So what does the county do withthat money?
Well, everyone in the jail andtypically our jail population
(26:08):
runs around 1,150 somewhere inthere daily population, everyone
in jail by law is consideredindigent, so all the health care
(26:30):
in the jail is covered by thehealth care program, the
indigent health care program.
So just right, there alone andit takes half of that $8 million
, $9 million.
That's going to change a littlebit because we didn't budget
(26:54):
for that.
So we had, I think, $3 to $4million budgeted for our health
care program in the Bell Countyjail.
Our contractor that we had quitcanceled the contract last year
because they said that they canno longer give us health care
(27:14):
at the contracted price.
So they canceled the contract.
So we had to go out to bid.
The bid that we received wasdouble that, almost $10 million.
So we're going to have toalready raise taxes just to
cover that additional expensefor our health care that we
(27:36):
didn't budget for.
So half the money is alreadygone to the jail to cover those
medical services in the jail.
The other portion of the moneywhat is remaining is what is
spent in the community portionof the money.
(27:57):
What is remaining is what isspent in the community.
So right now we have anindigent health care I guess
administration where ourdirector manages all the claims
coming in, onboarding people.
There's requirements that youhave to do to be a recipient of
(28:21):
indigent health care services.
So there are certain thresholdsthat you have to meet.
Outside of that there isoptional care, but I think the
county has moved away for anyoptional care.
So there's basic services thatthe county is required to
provide and outside of that,nothing else.
(28:46):
Unless we want to, unless we'regoing to pay for it, the state
is not going to reimburseanything, is not going to
reimburse anything and the bylawin Chapter 61 of the Health
Code gives us that roughly$30,000 per qualified indigent
(29:08):
person.
That is in the program.
So $30,000 a person has tospend for their health care in a
year.
That's medications, that isappointments, preventative care.
So just to give you an idea,what does the county do with
(29:34):
that other portion of the money,the other half that is for the
community.
So we have two health careclinics, two clinics the Greater
Killeen Community Clinic andthe Temple Community Clinic.
Those two clinics are, Ibelieve, non-profits.
They operate on their own.
(29:55):
They've been in existence forquite some time both of them,
and so the county partnered upwith those two community clinics
and we give both clinics thesame amount of money.
The same amount of money.
We give them $500,000 each tohelp administer health care
(30:19):
services for the county,indigent health care services.
They're able to do it a littlebit cheaper and it's been a good
program.
I think it's been doing it forabout five years now.
So it's been a good program.
I think we've been doing it forabout five years now.
So it's been a good program forthe clinics and for the county
(30:42):
because we're able to see morepeople.
The rest of that money that isleft over and I believe it's
like $2 million that's forclaims.
So if there are, say, you go tothe Killeen Community Clinic
and you need a specialty, well,obviously they don't have any
(31:03):
specialties at the communityclinic, so you've got to get
referred to one of the localhospitals.
All these hospitals arefor-profit but they're private
hospitals.
All these hospitals arefor-profit but they're private
hospitals.
They're not any type of publichospital.
So we have Baylor Scott White,we have Seton Ascension, then we
(31:30):
also have the VA, we have Metronot Metroplex Darnell.
So we have a lot of hospitalshere locally and that's where
some of that LPPF comes in.
The uncompensated care comes in,and so what?
(31:52):
What I'm seeing is that ourneed is starting to grow,
continues to grow.
The county is getting larger.
Our budget is capped.
Each year we can only go 3.5%above what we taxed the previous
(32:22):
year.
That's our cap above the no newrevenue rate is what they call
it.
So the no new revenue rate isthe same amount of money that
you got last year, whatever thattax rate would be.
So obviously, as your countygrows and develops and gets
(32:59):
subdivided, but still keep thesame revenue because you have
more developed property comingon board.
So that's the no new revenuerate.
We can only go three and a halfpercent above the no new revenue
rate before we have to dowhat's called the voter approved
(33:21):
rate.
So anything above the no newrevenue rate, the three and a
half percent above the no newrevenue rate, we have to take it
to the voters.
And you know, obviously it'sgoing to have to be something
compelling.
Obviously it's going to have tobe something compelling.
I don't think voters are goingto approve.
Hey, we need more jailers, weneed more road money maybe, but
(33:51):
we haven't done it here.
I think the last one that I'maware of that went above the no
new revenue rate, over the voterapproved rate, and went to the
voters was Harris County and thevoters actually approved that.
So, and there may be othercounties that have done that, I
(34:12):
just hadn't seen it in the news.
But that's an option for us ifthat's what we want to do.
But I do know that I don'tthink there's any appetite on
the commissioners court togamble on the voters on raising
taxes because people don't liketo increase property taxes.
(34:38):
So what would happen is, if itdoes not get approved, a
voter-approved tax rate, thenyou're stuck at the no new
revenue rate.
So that's kind of the catchthat we're in with increased
demand for indigent healthservices, with increased demand
(34:59):
for indigent health services.
But there's another option andthat's what I've been working on
probably the last six months,talking with other agencies,
other counties on how they do it.
(35:20):
I'm still doing my research,but I think we have an option
here that we could choose from.
In Bell County, if you remember,I was talking about County
Hospital District and I thinkthat's going to be our answer I
do see some disparity ofservices across the county, from
(35:44):
the east side of the county tothe types of services available
on the west side of the county,and that's an issue.
That's an issue.
The level of service is not thesame.
The cooperation is not the same.
Hopefully we can address someof those issues, but, as of
(36:08):
right now, it is an issue that Isee Access to care, the same
level of care to our citizens.
It needs to be standard.
The type of care that you getand support you get on one side
(36:29):
of the county should be the samethat you get on the other side
of the county, and that's whatI'm going to strive for and I
think that's what this proposalthat I'm going to be bringing up
would do.
So what I'm talking about is acounty hospital district.
A hospital district is a taxingentity but, as I mentioned
(36:55):
already, you're already gettingtaxed entity.
But, as I mentioned already,you're already getting taxed.
8% of our general revenue,which is taxes is for indigent
health care.
So that would get cut off fromthe county and go to a new
(37:20):
hospital district Any type ofpublic health.
Bell County has a publichospital district.
Any type of public health.
Bell County has a public healthdistrict.
That would go to the hospitaldistrict as well.
Then the jail contract, thejail health care, that would go.
Those three things would all gounder this umbrella of a
(37:41):
hospital district.
They also could do ambulanceservice.
As of right now in the westside of the county there's a
lack of ambulance service.
We have to get ambulanceservice from Nolanville and
that's only if it's availableand that could be 30 to 40
(38:02):
minutes away for the TurnbowRanch area, because City of
Killeen said they're not goingto go out and service Turnbow
Ranch.
So we have this county hospitaldistrict proposal.
(38:25):
There are three ways that we canand by we I mean us can create
a hospital district in BellCounty.
The first way is Chapter 281 ofthe Health and Safety Code,
that is, hospital districts incounties of at least 190,000
people.
Hospital districts in countiesof at least 190,000 people,
obviously Bell County.
We're nearing 400,000, and wewould qualify under that section
(38:46):
of the hospital district.
It's going to require a vote.
So the commissioner's court caneither call for an election or
a petition can be given to thecommissioner's court can either
call for an election or apetition can be given to the
commissioner's court for thecalling of a vote for a hospital
(39:08):
district.
This method would create ahospital district taxing
authority and the board, thehospital manager, district board
members would be appointed bythe Bell County Commissioner's
(39:30):
Court.
A lot of the larger countiesoperate in this model Travis
County, they have Central Health.
Harris County, they haveCentral Health.
Harris County, they have HarrisHealth.
Dallas County, they haveParkland Hospital, that's their
health district.
Bexar County, they haveUniversity Health.
(39:54):
So all those large hospitalsoperate.
Hospital districts operate inthis manner.
There's another way.
We have Chapter 283 HospitalDistrict and that's where it's
(40:16):
still an election is called, butthe board, the district, is the
commissioner's court, theofficers are the county's three
(40:48):
and a half percent cap, if youkind of understand what I'm
talking about.
That way, like I said, it's itstill calls for an election and
the commissioner's court would,would call for for that.
I don't know if there's apetition for this model.
(41:10):
I don't think so.
I think this is just that thecommissioner's court um would
call for it, yeah or no, it says, or presentation of a petition
creation.
Okay.
So in this model it could bedone the same way, either by
(41:31):
petition or by thecommissioner's calling the other
way.
The third and final way chaptertwo, 86 of the health and safety
code, and this is uh titledhospital districts created by
voter approval.
So in this model, uh, and andit is out in some other counties
(41:55):
, uh, midland County for one ofthem uh, for instance, they have
a hospital district and alltheir board members are elected,
so they would be elected.
This one has a little bithigher threshold, so the
commissioner's court can callfor the vote, call for an
(42:25):
election, or a petition couldcome in with 3% of the total
registered voters in theproposed district.
So, for instance, in BellCounty that would probably be
about 7,000 signatures and thenwe would have to call for an
(42:58):
election.
Doing it this way, they wouldbe elected during the same time
that you do elections for citycouncil and school board races.
So those are our three optionsto create a hospital district.
Let's keep in mind the hospitaldistrict will be a taxing
authority.
(43:18):
You are already getting taxedfor indigent health care, so
it's not like it's going to beadditional money out of your
pocket.
It could.
I'm not going to lie and tellyou that it wouldn't.
And what I mean by that is soif the county is already taxing
(43:46):
you 8% and a hospital districtis created, that 8% goes to and
by 8% I mean the dollars, theactual dollars that were levied
would go to the hospitaldistrict.
The county's tax rate is stillthe same, so you would expect
for the county to lower its taxrate accordingly 8%.
(44:08):
So that is just something thatyou're going to have to be
mindful of to the electedofficials, to let them know that
, hey, if we support a hospitaldistrict, then we expect our
county tax rate to be lowered,and that's something I would
(44:30):
support.
Are there a lot of needs outthere?
Yeah, there are a lot of needsout there.
Are there a lot of needs outthere?
Yeah, there are a lot of needsout there.
But we need especially with ourcuts that are coming to
Medicaid, our cuts that arealready happening to SNAP, to VA
(44:54):
there's going to be a lot ofneed and the LPPF getting cut
we're going to have to step upand be able to take care of
ourselves, and I think this is agood answer.
It's a good start.
Like I said, there's a lot ofhospital districts out there.
This would not be a new ornovel approach to helping out
(45:22):
the needy.
Our largest counties in thestate of Texas has a hospital
district.
Our smallest counties in thestate have a hospital district,
and now it's time for BellCounty and its residents to have
a hospital district.
And now it's time for BellCounty and its residents to have
a hospital district to takecare of our most vulnerable
(45:45):
population.
So that is what I plan to bringto the voters in November of
2026.
A hospital district, and it'sgoing to be up to the voters to
decide if that's something thatthey care about.
(46:06):
Is that something that they cansupport?
They're supporting it now withtheir taxes, with their taxes,
and I think that the people ofBell County will step up to the
plate.
I think they will vote for ahospital district and I'm
(46:32):
looking forward to going out andtelling people the benefits of
the district and what we havenow and how it will improve
lives, save lives and save moneyduring the process.
So, anyways, I got to pack, getready to go, enjoy your day and
(46:56):
we will talk to you next week.
We'll be you next time.
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