News Staff Report
Escambia County Health Care Authority (ECHCA) officials are asking community leaders, healthcare advocates and residents across the county for support of a proposed 4-mill property tax increase that will help provide much-needed funding for local healthcare needs.
The tax increase, if approved, will double the amount of public healthcare taxes paid each year by property owners. Revenues from the new revenue stream will be used to help finance the county’s public healthcare network, which includes Atmore Community Hospital, D.W. McMillian Memorial Hospital in Brewton, and various clinics and other medical facilities throughout the county.
A new hospital for Atmore has been on the drawing board for more than five years, but ECHCA has been unable to secure adequate funding to build the proposed medical center, which is to be located near Interstate 65.
Officials of the cash-strapped healthcare authority cited “the ongoing lack of sufficient reimbursement” from insurance carriers and government programs as the main reason the new tax is needed.
A special election to decide the issue has been approved by the Alabama Attorney General’s office, based on decades-old legislation that allows a levy of up to 8 mills for public healthcare, but county commissioners have not yet set a date for the countywide vote.
According to an ECHCA press release, a petition is currently being circulated to secure enough signatures to determine whether the proposed extra assessment will proceed to a public vote and whether it will succeed if such a vote is held.
“This is about keeping access to healthcare close to home,” ECHCA Chair Debbie Rowell said in the press release. “Our hospitals are stretched beyond thin. This investment will help stabilize services, support ongoing efforts to provide quality care to the community, and ensure access to local healthcare for future generations.”
Healthcare authority officials provided data from Alabama Hospital Association, along with Medicare Cost Reports data, which show Alabama hospitals provide more than $655 million a year in uncompensated care. The figures include that 71 percent of all Alabama hospitals operate at a loss, and 83 percent of the state’s rural hospitals operate at a loss.
If the proposal makes it to the ballot box and is approved by voters, only those who own land, homes and other real estate will be directly affected, although car owners will also pay the tax as part of the cost of their vehicle license plates.
For instance, the hospital tax will increase by about $40 per year — roughly $3.33 per month — on property with an after-exemptions (homestead, etc.) value of $100,000. It will, of course, be higher for properties with a net value of more than $100,000. (Each mill represents a 1/10-percent levy on the net value.)
Taxpayers ages 65 and older whose federal net taxable income is $12,000 or less are exempt from all ad valorem taxes, as are taxpayers who are permanently and totally disabled.
ECHCA board member Keith Horton accented the positive impact such a tax would have on potential upgrades to the county’s public healthcare network.
“Our healthcare system is the safety net for our communities,” Horton said. “This measure is a vital step toward protecting our hospitals and ensuring we are prepared to meet today’s challenges and tomorrow’s emergencies.”
Along with Rowell and Horton, the current ECHCA board consists of Sharon Davidson, Nancy Lowrey, Tony Sanks, Al Holley, (Flomaton Mayor) Jim Johnson and Justin Stabler.