The idea of whether to grant some vouchers for free R-CAT transportation to low income residents in the city met with mixed reviews by the Reno County Commission.
Kim Moore with the United Health Ministry Fund and others were before the commission asking that the county provide the vouchers which at the most would come to around a thousand dollars a month.
The idea is for those who are so poor, they can’t afford the fare, or those who are released from Hutchinson Regional Medical Center and have no way to get home. They apparently use ambulances in some of these cases. Many are those who come in after a crisis situation, often with no money on them. Moore argues that these health-care providers are often granting their services at no cost to the patient.
Commission Chair Dan Deming was in favor saying it would happen at virtually no additional cost to the county, but Commissioners Brad Dillon and James Schlickau argued that could be opening a door to others seeking the same exemption. Dillon said it could be argued that those less fortunate could ask for the vouchers for R-CAT rides for other things such as going to the grocery store or dental appointments. Schlickau says it isn’t fair that it wouldn’t include those in the county as well. He agreed with Dillon on where do you draw the line.
The amount for the vouchers would probably be somewhere between 500-dollars to maybe 1-thousand at the most. Both Dillon and Schlickau stated that it’s not the cost, but whether this would open the door to other groups wanting the same exemption.
Dillon suggested that those entities such as the hospital, Prairie Star Health Care, Hutchinson Clinic and Horizon’s either purchase the vouchers themselves or try to get a grant from the Hutchinson Community Foundation.
Moore says they are still working on the details with R-CAT, meaning the issue which was only up for discussion Tuesday will come back again in the near future.