TX county spends same on animal shelter as it does indigent care

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/041005dnmethealth.f607.html


"If the public said we want ... to be taxed to take care of indigent health care, who am I to tell them no?" Commissioner Jerry Hoagland said. "But what I'm hearing from most of my friends is they're not in favor of that."

Commissioners recently formed a 25-member resident task force that will have public meetings in May and June on indigent health care. The hearings are part of a yearlong study by the task force that will end with recommendations to commissioners.

Collin County has the state's highest median household income, but commissioners have kept indigent health care spending low – some say appallingly low. For instance, the county spent $909,481 to treat the poor last year. By comparison, it plans to spend $810,000 a year to operate an animal shelter expected to open next year.

To qualify for free health care in Collin County, a family of four can earn no more than $9,675 a year. Commissioners raised that figure from $4,837 last year, but it still pales in comparison to the county's median family income of $81,984, Ms. Kaus said.