Two recent stories published by 1819News.com describe different city decisions. Read together, they tell one story about misplaced priorities in Montgomery.
One story focused on Jackson Hospital. CEO John Quinlivan said the hospital sits near closure. He blamed payment rates from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and filed suit in December.
The insurer answered with a rebuttal. A spokesperson said Blue Cross accounts for under 25 percent of patients and revenue. She said the hospital’s revenue rose from $185 million in 2011 to $333 million in 2022. She said Jackson does not offer the same level of high acuity care as regional centers.
Those statements miss the central issue.
Hospitals lose money on Medicare, Medicaid, and self pay. Commercial insurance fills the gap. Quinlivan said Blue Cross controls about 88 percent of Alabama’s commercial market. He said national Blue Cross plans pay hospitals up to 240 percent of Medicare. He said Alabama runs closer to 140 percent. He said Jackson receives less, with some outpatient rates below Medicare.
That gap crushes margins. A hospital can grow revenue and still run out of cash. Payroll does not wait. Vendors do not wait. Patients do not wait.
The second story covered a city contract that shows how Montgomery spends when it wants to move fast.
The city approved a $1.45 million first year deal with TrafficServe, a startup from Louisiana. The company will handle minor traffic accidents. The service provides three vehicles and two staff members for limited hours.
Montgomery County Commission chairman Doug Singleton said a trained deputy costs about $100,000 per year with pay and benefits. By that math, $1.45 million equals roughly fourteen deputies. The city did not buy that capacity.
The story listed more red flags. The company’s CEO, Marcus Mitchell Toussaint, left a police department after a public disciplinary case. The city became the first market for the firm. The sales pitch promised an AI powered system that no local agency had tested.
Civilian crash response can work. That idea was not the problem. Price, scale, and risk were the problem.
Now step back and look at the full picture.
Montgomery has funded pilot programs. Montgomery has paid for Super Bowl advertising. Montgomery has explored plans for an expanded event center. Montgomery has bought high profile real estate like the former Advertiser building.
Each choice carried a price tag. Each choice drew staff time and political attention. None of those choices kept an emergency room open.
The city now expects taxpayers to help patch Jackson Hospital after years of drift. That path treats the hospital as an afterthought.
A hospital is not optional. It anchors trauma care, residency training, and thousands of jobs. It supports every neighborhood and every employer. When it weakens, the region weakens.
The city had other options.
Montgomery could have paused pilot projects. It could have delayed splashy advertising buys. It could have shelved event center expansion talk. Those dollars could have backed a partnership with Montgomery County.
That partnership could have taken two forms.
The city and county could have stepped in as owners and reset governance. They could have demanded open books and strict oversight. They could have hired operators with turnaround experience.
They could have built a new public benefit hospital entity. The city and county could have shared ownership duties. Leadership pay could have tied to cash health and access targets.
Both paths required discipline. Both required saying no to side projects.
Montgomery chose activity over stability. The result now stands in plain view.
The stories published by 1819News.com show a city willing to spend fast on experiments and image. They show a city slow to protect its most basic system.
The question left is simple. Will Montgomery keep funding projects that look busy, or will it treat healthcare like the infrastructure it is?
Jason Davenport is a seasoned media professional with over two decades of experience in the fields of broadcasting, audio/video production, and media consulting. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, Jason is the owner of Pulse Media Montgomery, where he specializes in providing innovative solutions for clients, including podcasting, blogging, web design, and social media management.