Taxpayers in Broward County, north of Griffin Road, will pay more this year to fund the public hospital system, while those living south of the line will see their tax rates reduced. will be
Each year, the North Broward Hospital District, known as Broward Health, and the South Broward Hospital District, known as the Memorial Healthcare System, announce annual tax mileage rates that property owners pay to help provide healthcare to uninsured residents in the area. set. .
This year, Broward Health wants to increase that rate by 37.7%, from 1.2 to 1.6. For homeowners like Troy Liggett of Fort Lauderdale, the higher tax rate means a $200 more property tax bill for the hospital district. Ligget opposes price increases.
“I think it’s almost obscene to raise taxes this much in this economy when Broward County and the city of Fort Lauderdale keep their rates,” Liggett said.
Broward County plans to keep the tax rate the same as last year, and expects property owners to pay more money as home prices explode.
In contrast to Broward Health, Memorial’s board decided to move forward with the lowest tax rate ever recorded in the district. The 2023 tax rate (0.1144 mileage) is down 4.59% from the previous year.
[ RELATED: Broward County to keep same property tax rate, but you’ll still pay more ]
When the health system emerged from the pandemic, why did one hospital district hurt residents with a big tax increase, while the other hospital district cut taxes?
Explanations provided: Differences in competition, sources of funding, and growth plans.
Both hospital systems are expanding after deeming growth vital in South Florida, where the need for medical services continues to grow. Both have to bear the cost of rising staff wages as a result of shortages in the healthcare sector.
But Memorial is ready to pay for it this year. It has low competition, excellent funding sources, and a history of strong financial management.
In southern Broward County, Memorial Health Care operates five adult hospitals and the highly regarded Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. All hospitals within the district boundaries are owned by the Memorial covering the eastern and western sides of the territory.
In northern Broward County, Broward Health operates four adult hospitals and the Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital.But within its boundaries are the Cleveland Clinic, HCA Florida, Tenet, Steward Healthcare, and Holy Cross Health. Baptiste also has a contract to build a hospital at Sunrise.
[ RELATED: Turf battle grows as Broward Health plans a new hospital in Sunrise. It won’t ‘concede our area’ to competitors. ]
Broward Health Chief Financial Officer Alex Fernandez said: “There is no such competition in the South Broward Hospital District. South Broward has no choice. Memorial is your only choice.”
Fernandez said Broward Health not only competes for patients, but the healthcare system also competes for doctors, nurses, technicians and other employees. Labor costs, he said, have only increased by 42%, or almost $200 million, in three years, which includes higher wages paid to contract workers.
This year, Broward Health built a $25 million stand-alone emergency room in Sunrise, spent $6 million to lease and renovate a building across from a major hospital in Fort Lauderdale, and move executive offices. You want to grow your business by creating multi-purpose spaces with The company scrapped its original plans to build a full-fledged hospital in Sunrise on land it owned.
The planned project will be funded by Broward Health with $100 million set aside for capital spending in 2023, with spending backed by tax increases. Our 2023 capital budget is about double last year’s.
On Tuesday, Broward Health’s board will vote on whether to approve the tax rate increase. Taxpayers can speak at public meetings, but the final decision rests with the Board.
Even without a rate hike, the health care system will receive an additional $17.7 million this year due to higher real estate prices in the northern part of the county. The rate increase will enable spending of an additional $69 million.
“If we hadn’t raised our millage rate to where we suggest we need it today, we would be operating at a loss,” Fernandez said.
Fort Lauderdale homeowner Liggett said taxpayers should be aware of the increase. He spoke at his first hearing and will speak again at the final hearing. “It is outrageous that an unelected board can raise property taxes by 37.7% and spend his $100 million on capital projects without accountability to voters,” he said. I was.
[ RELATED: Memorial Healthcare choses new CEO ]
Matt Muhart, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at Memorial Healthcare, south across Griffin Road, has also noticed the rising costs.
“There is considerable financial pressure on hospitals,” he said. “From $180 million a year, he’s spending $220 million more just in increased labor costs.”
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Scott Wester, new CEO of Memorial Healthcare, said his board recognized the challenges facing hospitals but took a different stance. “They have now taken the position that they can weather the storm without burdening taxpayers.
South Broward Hospital District — Memorial Health Care — is less dependent on income from property owners’ hospital taxes. Memorial earns income from profitable joint ventures and investments and the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation. The health system is also using the proceeds of the $250 million bond for expansion projects such as adding four floors to Children’s Hospital and building a new cancer hospital in Pembroke Pines.
The increase in South Broward property values alone will cause Memorial Healthcare to spend $7.7 million more than it did last year. Wester says this is more than enough to cover the health system’s obligations.
[ RELATED: Broward’s public hospital systems plan to work together in unprecedented way ]
Linda Quick, president of Quick Bernstein Connections Group and involved in health policy in Florida for decades, said the economic differences today are the result of decisions made years ago. said it was.
“Historically, the North Broward Hospital District has been less financially responsible than the South District,” she explained. That’s part of the reason I couldn’t do it.”
Boards of two hospital districts in the county met earlier this year to discuss joint ventures and potential collaborations. Wester said there was no discussion of merging the two districts, although there was an opportunity to work together. “There is no conversation today to suggest that it will happen anytime soon,” he said.
South Florida health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com..
