Bingham Memorial Hospital gives Bingham County $442,000 check

Bingham County will be making a hefty deposit thanks to Bingham Memorial Hospital.

On Wednesday, the hospital presented a check for $442,040 to Bingham County Commissioners Ladd Carter and Mark Bair and Bingham County Clerk Pamela Eckhart. This is the first payment of the re-negotiated liquid asset agreement between the hospital and the county.

In 2007, the county leased the hospital and all associated assets to BMH, Inc. when it became a non-profit entity. The agreement also created an annual payment of at least $150,000 for the liquid asset agreement. Last year, because the valuation of the hospital increased significantly, that minimum amount was increased to $400,000.

Also, if the hospital continues to grow and the valuation increases, so does the payment to the county.

The rest of the money is a reimbursement for the county’s indigent care. Mark Baker, the hospital’s director of public relations and marketing, said this year’s amount is indicative of a better operational year.

“It was a better year in revenue. That $42,000 speaks to higher operating value,” Baker said.

The annual payment helps with budgeting since the amount goes into the county’s general budget, according to Carter. He also said the payment helps generate dollars similar to tax dollars as if the hospital was a for-profit one.

Carter adds the liquid asset re-negotiation was a start of a healthy dialogue with the hospital.

“It’s a step forward from where it was. It’s not a perfect relationship, but there’s still some issues the county has with transparency that they’d like to see change,” he said. “We’re working on it and we have a dialogue. I think that’s the important part.”

When asked about that statement, Baker said he’s not sure what exactly Carter is referring to. He also said the hospital is just trying to be straightforward and a good partner.