by Sarah Jane Tribble
MetroHealth's Chief Executive Dr. Akram Boutros said Thursday that the public hospital system is taking extra steps to ensure that funding collected through the health and human services levy for the hospital are spent on patient services.
"To be completely clear and transparent, as of January first 2016, every dollar that comes in from the taxpayers from Cuyahoga County is now being deposited in a completely separate bank account," Boutros says. "The only charges that are going to go against that account are direct patient care."
Boutros' remark came during the question-and-answer session of a Thursday press briefing MetroHealth held to address concerns about a lawsuit alleging improper executive spending.
The hospital received $40 million in 2015 from the levy. It's funding, passed on a two-year budget by the county, will decrease 20 percent to $32.4 million in 2016.
The taxpayer contribution accounts for about four percent of the hospital's nearly $900 million operating budget, Boutros says.