MedWest-Haywood officials have decided to pay bills instead of worrying about repaying a line of credit extended by Carolinas Healthcare Systems.

In a meeting with the Hawyood County Board of Commissioners Monday, John Young, vice president of the western division of the Charlotte-based medical group, said MedWest-Haywood’s accounts payable had been as high as $15 million and were now down to $11.2 million. An acceptable “working number” for accounts payable would be around $9 million, Young said.

The $10 million line of credit Carolinas Healthcare extended to MedWest-Haywood one year ago was not only to be used to pay for unexpected and capital costs, but was intended to be a “safety net,” Young said.

“It was always intended that within that loan, even though it’s year by year, we would ...