HOSPITAL FEE DISPUTE SETTLED LAFCOTO REFUND CASH IF NEW LAW PASSES.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Settling an 8-month-old dispute, Antelope Valley Hospital has agreed to pay $53,000 to help fund a Los Angeles County commission that sets local governmental boundaries.

But the settlement terms will let the hospital get the money back if hospital officials succeed in getting legislation passed to exempt hospital districts from such fees.

``The issue is this is the equivalent of a nurse every year we are paying for a fee for services we are not receiving,'' hospital board chairman Gary Hill said. ``We are seeking legislation to correct the oversight.''

A law that created a new funding system for the Local Agency Formation Commission resulted in a $53,176 assessment against the hospital, nearly 25 percent of the total bill to special districts throughout Los Angeles County.

The assessment for Antelope Valley Hospital is about one-third of what the city of Los Angeles pays, 25 times the city of Lancaster's bill and about 5 percent of the commission's total $977,000 annual budget.

LAFCO officials have agreed to reimburse the $53,176 if hospital officials succeed by the end of May in getting state law changed to exclude hospital districts from paying this year's fee and from having future fees levied.

``This is not a contentious issue of two people being mad at each other. This is the way the law is. We are trying to come up with a resolution,'' said Sandor Winger, LAFCO deputy executive officer.

Winger said the commission will send letters to lawmakers supporting the law change, which is being pushed by the Association of California Healthcare Districts.

Antelope Valley Hospital officials say the fee places an unfair burden on publicly operated hospitals and would take away dollars needed for medical care at a time when the health care industry is struggling.

The fee charged to Antelope Valley's hospital district, one of two in Los Angeles County, is the largest levied on any of California's 73 hospital districts.

Hill said the new funding formula for LAFCO, which was triggered by legislation that took effect this year, is flawed. The Metropolitan Water District, which has more than $900 million in revenues, was exempted from paying the fee, as were school districts, Hill said, but hospital districts were not.

Previously, the operating expenses of the Los Angeles County LAFCO were paid mostly by county government, with Los Angeles city government pitching in 27 percent, LAFCO officials said.