Orange County NC Website
MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH <br />August 27, 2009 <br />Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 3 August 27, <br />2009 <br /> A. Approve Write-Off of Uncollectable Accounts <br /> <br />According to the Health Department’s Administrative Policy & Procedure <br />Manual, Policy 15.0 – Delinquent & Uncollectable Accounts, OCHD shall remove <br />delinquent and uncollectible accounts from the Accounts Receivable system on <br />an annual basis. <br /> <br />A list of delinquent and uncollectible outstanding client balances – accounts <br />that have had no activity in the preceding 12 months was prepared by the <br />Business Officer. The Board was reminded that at least three billing attempts had <br />been made to collect the outstanding balance; however, some clients were <br />“lost” due to address changes. The list was provided to the Board with the <br />request for approval to move these accounts from “active” to “inactive” status. <br />• Dental Health Services, $3,406.60 <br />• Personal Health Services: <br />o Child Health, $928.40 <br />o Primary Care, $203.80 <br />o Maternal, $551.00 <br />o Family Planning, $10,889.56 <br />o Adult Health, $335.51 <br />o Epi (including IMM, STD, CD), $215.00 <br />o Nutrition, $35.20 <br /> The total amount of client balances to move to “inactive” status is $16,565.07 <br /> <br />Steve Yuhasz asked why the Family Planning fee amount was so much higher <br />than any of the other write-offs. Rosemary Summers replied that as a recipient of <br />the Title X funds for family planning (part of the state block grant), by virtue of the <br />federal regulations attached to Title X, the department is prohibited from <br />requiring people to pay for family planning services if they state they are unable <br />to pay. Christopher Cooke asked for clarification on the regulations of Title X to <br />prohibit the Department to require payment for services as they apply to family <br />planning, but not the other areas of healthcare. He also asked if there was a <br />way to know if the amounts due were disproportionate to the services provided. <br /> Rosemary Summers responded that the regulations consider requiring payment <br />a barrier to receiving services only for family planning. Some of our other services <br />are free (STD’s) and others have a minimum charge such as primary care and <br />dental services. <br /> <br />Commissioner Yuhasz asked if it was possible to establish a percentage these <br />write-offs represent when compared to the total amount billed for corresponding <br />services. Dr. Summers replied that a full educational session on billing practices <br />and finances will be scheduled for October. <br /> <br />Motion to approve the proposed write-off of delinquent and uncollectable accounts <br />according to Policy 15.0 was made by Steve Yuhasz, seconded by Christopher Cooke, <br />and carried without dissent. <br /> <br />B. Pandemic H1N1 and Seasonal Flu Planning Report <br /> <br />The 2009-10 influenza season is anticipated to be active. In addition to providing