{"id":406169,"date":"2026-08-14T04:46:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T04:46:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/406169\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T04:46:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T04:46:50","slug":"umc-asks-lubbock-county-commissioners-to-reconsider-inmate-health-care-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/406169\/","title":{"rendered":"UMC asks Lubbock County commissioners to reconsider inmate health care funding"},"content":{"rendered":"

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – University Medical Center is asking Lubbock County commissioners to reevaluate how inmate health care is funded, as costs tied to the Lubbock County Detention Center continue to rise.<\/p>\n

UMC CEO Mark Funderburk presented the hospital\u2019s financial outlook<\/a> to commissioners during their regular meeting on Monday, proposing the county adopt a no-new-revenue tax rate for the hospital district, while calling for a fresh look at how correctional health care costs are shared.<\/p>\n

\u2018No margin, no mission\u2019<\/p>\n

Funderburk told commissioners the hospital\u2019s operating margin is on track to reach zero this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is, honestly, the lowest margin we\u2019ve had in the last two to three decades,\u201d Funderburk said.<\/p>\n

Funderburk says that excludes 2024, when the ransomware attack hit the hospital. <\/p>\n

He said the financial strain comes as demand for care is also increasing, with both UMC hospitals seeing extended emergency room wait times. He says he hears comments like the following one often.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been coming here for a long time; it\u2019s never been like this. The staff are great, but 13-hour wait times are unacceptable. Or 15, or 18, or 20, or down to five, whatever the case is,\u201d he said. \u201cBoth hospitals are very, very busy in their ERs. These are just frequent conversations that are happening. So, as Lubbock grows, we have to grow with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inmate care costs climb<\/p>\n

Funderburk said indigent care costs UMC roughly $100 million per year, while the hospital\u2019s tax base provides only about $36 million to cover it. Of that $36 million, 28 percent is currently going toward care for inmates at the Lubbock County Detention Center \u2014 nearly one-third of the hospital\u2019s total unfunded burden.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s health care that has to be delivered. Somebody has to do it. It\u2019s our responsibility,\u201d Funderburk said. \u201cBut now it\u2019s almost one-third of the entire amount for our full unfunded burden.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the inmate population is not only growing but aging and becoming sicker, resulting in longer hospital stays. The cost of inmate care was delegated to UMC through an interlocal agreement in 1998. At the time, Funderburk said, the cost was around $1 million per year. It has since risen to $11 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to perhaps a new interlocal agreement or some agreement where we can work together in that regard,\u201d Funderburk said.<\/p>\n

Sheriff backs UMC\u2019s position<\/p>\n

Lubbock County Sheriff Kelly Rowe supported Funderburk\u2019s presentation, telling commissioners that costs \u2014 both for care and for security on inmates<\/a> at the hospital \u2014 are not going away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI stand with Mr. Funderburk and appreciate everything he\u2019s doing,\u201d Rowe said. \u201cBut I think it\u2019s important for you all to understand that those costs are not going away and they\u2019re only on the increase.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the proposed tax rate and budget on Sept. 14.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 KCBD. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – University Medical Center is asking Lubbock County commissioners to reevaluate how inmate health care…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":390100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[7990,4838,4145,2440,73769,15431,1522,2441,14573,11903,666,584,1822,1137,37305,168,170,169,142240,137442,229,2448,142239,2447,2446,2445,20373,512],"class_list":["post-406169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lubbock","tag-brittany-crittenden","tag-care","tag-center","tag-commissioners","tag-correctional","tag-costs","tag-county","tag-court","tag-district","tag-financial","tag-funding","tag-health","tag-hospital","tag-inmate","tag-kelly-rowe","tag-lubbock","tag-lubbock-headlines","tag-lubbock-news","tag-margin","tag-mark-funderburk","tag-medical","tag-no-new-revenue","tag-outlook","tag-property","tag-rate","tag-tax","tag-umc","tag-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406169\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/390100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}