Worry over potential cuts in charity care

Each year Oconee Medical Center writes-off million dollars worth of charity care that is either uncollectible or non-reimbursable. Wayne McCall, the Oconee County councilman, is worried whether a local commitment to charity care will be lessened if and when the Greenville Health System takeover of OMC becomes final.  McCall should not worry, according to Hunter Kome, OMC chief operating officer. “There won’t be any decrease in the amount of charity care we provide.  GHS is not-for-profit.  We will continue to care for all people regardless of ability to pay,” Kome told 96.3/WGOG NEWS this morning.  Last night McCall asked the county administrator to begin to think about the possibility of the county offering money to help pay some costs of charity care. The councilman is also worried that other health care providers, such as Rosa Clark in Seneca and the Joseph Sullivan mobile van service, will lose their separate funding.