There will be no $574,525 loan from the City of Batesville to Tri-Lakes Medical Center – at least not now.
That was the decision made Tuesday by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen who took the loan request under advisement and opted to set in motion legal steps that could lead to the sale or lease of the hospital.
At issue is the hospital’s future, its financial status and a $500,000 bond payment owed by the facility and due Jan. 1. The hospital does not have enough funds to make the bond payment and another payment, $900,000, is due in July, according to Tri-Lakes administrator Richard Manning.
Representing the hospital board, Larry Pratt, vice chairman, asked for the money saying it is needed to get state Medicaid matching funds.
Because of the high number of Medicaid patients here, Pratt said the $574,525 would garner $223,426 in Medicaid funds under the Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program. The $574,525 would be returned by the state along with the $223,426.
Pratt said the city loan would be repaid upon receipt of the DSH funds and returned matching dollars.
While not going along with the DSH plan, the board did give unanimous approval to a resolution that allows Tri-Lakes to borrow $515,000 from State Bank & Trust Company, Batesville.
That action followed a like decision made Monday by the Panola County Board of Supervisors.