In 2020, the Hospital District ended its long-term relationship with a local lawyer and retained a Scottsdale litigation lawyer to handle the legal work of the District.
In the past, YRMC paid the Hospital District’s legal fees as a component of the Hospital District’s “administrative expenses.” Of critical importance, however, is that YRMC paid legal invoices that had enough detail to make sure the requested fees were truly the “administrative expenses” of the Hospital District. YRMC’s non-profit and tax exempt status does not allow us to use our resources for purely individual, private gain.
What you often hear from the Hospital District is the false claim that YRMC stopped paying the Hospital District’s “administrative expenses.” Here is the truth.
YRMC never stopped paying for the Hospital District’s recording secretary or the incidental expenses of the Hospital District, like rent for meeting space, office supplies, etc.
When the Hospital District submits invoices for these expenses, YRMC paid (and continues to pay) them without fail or delay.
The submission of legal fees is another story altogether.
Beginning in 2020, the Hospital District began sending YRMC legal invoices with a total amount, but no detail. YRMC requested invoices with an appropriate amount of detail to ensure we were paying for the Hospital District’s legitimate administrative expenses and not enriching a private individual.
YRMC told the Hospital District multiple times that we would pay any invoice for legal fees that included enough detail to avoid a risk to the hospital’s tax exempt status.
From early 2020 to this day, the Hospital District has never provided legal invoices with any detail. In fact, several months ago, the Hospital District stopped sending any legal invoices to YRMC at all.
One last fact worth sharing regarding the payment of the Hospital District’s legal fees is, YRMC agreed to pay the fees of the Hospital District’s counsel in evaluating the potential affiliation between YRMC and LifePoint, which is customary. YRMC will pay those fees when the Hospital District submits an invoice with the appropriate amount of detail.
