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MINUTES <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH <br /> November 20, 2024 <br /> Dr. Crandell commented that he would not be able to attend June 25' or January 22nd; Dr. <br /> Jonnal asked if anyone else had other conflicts and said that unfortunately rescheduling for one <br /> person was likely not practical. <br /> Dr. Jonnal reminded the board that the meeting schedule can be amended as long as there is at <br /> least 30 days' notice before any given meeting. <br /> Motion to approve the proposed 2025 BOH Meeting Schedule with the Board Retreat <br /> scheduled for Saturday, March 81 was made by Commissioner Amy Fowler, seconded by <br /> Dr. Shielda Rodgers, and carried without dissent. <br /> C. Debt Write-Off and Debt Set-Off <br /> Frederick Perschau, Financial and Administrative Services Director, presented the proposed <br /> debt write off and debt set off for FY2023-2024. <br /> In 2013, the Orange County Board of Health declared that patients of the Orange County Health <br /> Department would not be refused medical services due to inability to pay. Therefore, debts from <br /> Personal Health Services are not pursued through debt set off. <br /> Mr. Perschau explained that debts of$50 or more from Environmental Health Services or Dental <br /> Health Services which have been on the books for at least sixty days are pursued through the <br /> debt set-off program —first, an attorney sends letters seeking payment, and if the debt is not <br /> paid in a timely manner then the debt is sent to the state Debt Set Off Program, where tax <br /> refunds and lottery winnings can be garnished to settle the debt. For FY2023-2024, the health <br /> department has so far received $3,373.16 in repayments through the debt set-off program. <br /> Debts below $50 which have been outstanding for over a year are considered uncollectible. In <br /> response to Dr. Baldwin's question, Mr. Perschau explained that this debt is considered "bad <br /> debt" and is too much of a risk to be considered an asset, so from an accounting perspective, it <br /> is best practice to "write off' the debt without any plan to recoup it. For FY2023-2024, the health <br /> department has $10,008 in uncollectible debt across Dental Health Services, Environmental <br /> Health Services, and Personal Health Services, which needs to be written off—that is, <br /> transferred from active status to inactive status. Mr. Perschau clarified that if a client returns to <br /> the health department seeking nonmedical services within three years, their debt will be <br /> reactivated. <br /> Dr. Crandell asked if there were any debts excluded from this total, as it seemed low for the <br /> debts of a health department. Victoria Hudson, Environmental Health Director, explained that <br /> the figure only includes uncollectible debt, as collectible debt is pursued through the set-off <br /> program. Dr. Baldwin said that he also thought the debt seemed low but observed that the <br /> health department offers a sliding scale which can slide to zero for some services, meaning that <br /> most people who truly can't afford to pay likely do not have much debt; Ms. Stewart agreed that <br /> this was likely a factor. <br /> Motion to approve the transfer from active to inactive status of$10,008 in bad debt, thus <br /> writing it off without collection, was made by Dr. Alison Stuebe, seconded by <br /> Commissioner Amy Fowler, and carried without dissent. <br /> S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ <br /> November Page 6 <br />