County provided over $26,000 in assistance to county residents

By STEPH TAHTINEN

Mt. Pleasant News

In fiscal year 2010-11, Henry County provided $26,353 worth of assistance to county residents through General Assistance.

Sarah Kaufman, General Assistance Director and Henry County CPC, broke down the numbers for the board of supervisors on Thursday morning as follows:

Food and provisions: used $4,500 out of a budgeted $6,500

Prescriptions and medications: used $153 out of a budgeted $2,500

Rent: used $9,500 out of a budgeted $16,000

Utilities: used $3,000 out of a budgeted $9,000

Funerals: used $9,200 out of a budgeted $14,000

Kaufman also reported that in the past couple of days, she has received many requests for assistance on down payments for utilities and first month?s rent, which the county does not provide assistance with.

?We?ve never covered deposits for anything,? said Kaufman.

She explained that there has been an increasing trend of people who don?t really need it trying to rely on the county for assistance.

?You?re getting a lot of able-bodied folks who don?t really have a work history,? said Kaufman, noting that these people are capable of working but choose to rely on taxpayers? dollars instead. ?I don?t think we should help those people.?

General assistance provides funding assistance to eligible county residents for rent, utilities, indigent burial, limited medical, limited transportation and determines eligibility for state quota medical treatment at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Assistance is not provided on an ongoing basis.

Kaufman also informed the supervisors that she was headed to a meeting in Iowa City on Thursday to meet with other county CPCs regarding an issue with the new contract provided by St. Luke?s in Cedar Rapids.

The issue that many counties have with the contract is the clause that states the contract supercedes any management plan. Counties do not want this language in the contract, but St. Luke?s is requiring it be a part of the contract.

?I don?t think that anybody has signed it yet,? said Kaufman. She said it may be possible for counties to be forced into signing the contract and paying for things outside of their individual management plans because there is a desperate need for hospital beds. However, with national health care reform on the horizon, responsibility for payment will be taken away from the counties.

?They can coerce counties into signing it in a desperate situation, but come 2014, we?re out of the picture,? said Kaufman.

Kaufman said that St. Luke?s had not contacted Henry County with issues regarding payment.

?We apparently pay in a way that makes them happy,? said Kaufman.

This meeting was for counties only and was convened by Johnson County, who had just updated its management plan to say no contract will supercede its management plan.