WEEK IN REVIEW: CLARK COUNTY

Monday, Oct. 15, 2007 | 7:22 a.m.

There are basically two ways to chip away at the county hospital's ever-present financial losses - cut spending or boost revenues.

One seemingly simple way to boost revenues is to increase prices, right?

So what is University Medical Center doing this week?

Lowering prices, of course.

That's right, the public hospital's administrators will ask county commissioners Tuesday if they can give some of their customers discounts of up to 78 percent.

The reason?

The hospital's administrators say the move will actually encourage more people to pay. Here's the reasoning:

A big problem for UMC is the fact that it must serve everyone, even those with no health coverage. These people are called self-pay patients. The hospital believes that many of these people get their bills and say, "Oh my gosh, I can never pay this." And then they don't. So, UMC wants to make the bills smaller with the hope more people will be willing to pay.

The plan is based on patients' income and federal poverty guidelines. The government considers an individual impoverished if he earns $10,210 a year or less. There are also poverty levels for households. For example, a member of a four-person household is considered impoverished if his or her household income is $20,650 a year or less.

The proposed discounts would apply on a sliding scale to self-pay Clark County residents whose incomes are 500 percent (that is, $51,050 for an individual) or less of the federal poverty level.

"We are kind of testing this theory," said Kathy Silver, UMC's interim chief executive. "If we collect something, it is going to be better than nothing."

We'll see how it plays out, assuming commissioners approve the plan. The hospital could use some help. It lost more than $15 million in the first quarter of the fiscal year, according to a report commissioners will receive Tuesday. That's slightly more than last year's first quarter and on pace to exceed the anticipated fiscal 2008 loss of $41.3 million.

By the way, Silver says she plans to be a contender in the county's search for a permanent chief executive for UMC. The county hired a consultant last week to conduct the national search.

Now, on to something more sensational, kind of ...

Watch out, Michael Vick!

Commissioner Lawrence Weekly wants to crack down on illegal dog fighting in Clark County.

Well, "crack down" might be an overstatement.

Weekly's proposal would make it illegal to be a spectator at an animal fight.

Seems like a good idea, right? So good, in fact, that county law has already banned watching animal fights for 20 years.

So what does Weekly's proposal do?

Not much. It simply clarifies that it is illegal to be a spectator at an illegal animal fight or - and this is new - where preparations for a fight are being made.

The new part of the law might not be enforceable, Weekly acknowledged.

He said he's been getting calls about the issue courtesy of the high profile Vick case, in which the disgraced Atlanta Falcons quarterback pleaded guilty in August to federal charges stemming from his role in an illegal dog fighting operation.

Even if his proposed change to county law doesn't change much, Weekly said it would at least bring attention to the issue, putting violators - including spectators - on notice.

Both the old and rehashed versions of the law carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.