EL PASO, Texas – (KFOX14/CBS4) — El Paso County’s hospital district is proposing a slightly lower property tax rate for the next fiscal year, but many homeowners could still pay more as property values rise.
The El Paso County Hospital District, which includes University Medical Center and El Paso Children’s Hospital, is proposing a no-new-revenue tax rate of 23.7 cents per $100 of property value.
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That would be down from the current rate of 24 cents per $100.
A no-new-revenue rate is designed to bring in about the same amount of money as the prior year from existing properties, even as home values change.
If approved, the district projects that an average home valued at $240,000 would have a hospital district tax bill of about $568.
That would be an increase of almost $10 compared to last year, or about 81 cents more per month.
The proposal comes as UMC says it is preparing for more patients, higher costs to treat uninsured patients and possible reductions in federal Medicaid funding.
Jacob Cintron, president and CEO of the El Paso County Hospital District, said hospitals are watching for potential impacts.
“I think every hospital is worried about this. We all take patients and if they come into the ER, even the for-profit hospitals are required by law to see those patients. So, right now, we haven’t seen the impact hit. We do think it’s going to come,” Cintron said.
Both El Paso County’s Commissioners Court and UMC’s Board of Managers unanimously voted to introduce the proposal during a joint meeting yesterday.
FULL MEETING:PRESENTATION:
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Cintron said the district considered taxpayer pressures in bringing forward the rate.
“Given all the pressures that have been hitting El Paso taxpayers, and in appreciation also for the support they did in the voter-approved general bond, we felt that, at this point, there wasn’t enough for us to say, we see a trend to reserve a certain amount,” Cintron said.
The tax rate would help fund a budget of more than $2.1 billion.
UMC expects to treat about 2% more patients next year and estimates the cost of caring for uninsured patients will reach approximately $277 million next fiscal year.
Cintron said the district could consider a higher tax rate in the future if uninsured costs rise.
“There may be a time that, if the uninsured amount increases, we may have to come back for a tax increase,” he said.
County commissioners are set to consider final approval of the tax rate and budget on Monday, Aug. 24.
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