EL PASO, Texas – (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 El Paso County\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The El Paso County Hospital District, which includes University Medical Center and El Paso Children\u2019s Hospital, is proposing a no-new-revenue tax rate of 23.7 cents per $100 of property value. <\/p>\n
RECOMMENDED: El Paso leaders unveil FY 2027 budget proposal, including possible property tax rate hike<\/a><\/p>\n That would be down from the current rate of 24 cents per $100.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n If approved, the district projects that an average home valued at $240,000 would have a hospital district tax bill of about $568.<\/p>\n That would be an increase of almost $10 compared to last year, or about 81 cents more per month.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Jacob Cintron, president and CEO of the El Paso County Hospital District, said hospitals are watching for potential impacts.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d Cintron said.<\/p>\n Both El Paso County\u2019s Commissioners Court and UMC\u2019s Board of Managers unanimously voted to introduce the proposal during a joint meeting yesterday. <\/p>\n FULL MEETING:PRESENTATION:<\/p>\n a611397b-2132-4421-bdec-b9ef4182f5c6PDF previewPreview PDF<\/p>\n View PDF<\/a><\/p>\n Cintron said the district considered taxpayer pressures in bringing forward the rate.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven 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\u2019t enough for us to say, we see a trend to reserve a certain amount,\u201d Cintron said.<\/p>\n The tax rate would help fund a budget of more than $2.1 billion. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Cintron said the district could consider a higher tax rate in the future if uninsured costs rise.<\/p>\n \u201cThere may be a time that, if the uninsured amount increases, we may have to come back for a tax increase,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n County commissioners are set to consider final approval of the tax rate and budget on Monday, Aug. 24.<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED: El Paso hospital shares staff stories on the anniversary of the Aug. 3 Walmart shooting<\/a><\/p>\n