The El Paso County Hospital District is proposing a tax rate that could translate to a hospital tax bill of $568 a year on the average-value home – about $10 more than last year – if the proposed tax rate stands.
The hospital district, which includes University Medical Center of El Paso and El Paso Children’s Hospital, is proposing the no-new-revenue tax rate of 23.7 cents per $100 property valuation – the rate that would generate the same tax revenue as the previous year on the same properties.
The UMC Board of Managers and the El Paso County Commissioners Court during a joint meeting Tuesday each voted unanimously to introduce the proposed tax rate, which will then be voted on Aug. 24. A public hearing is set for Monday, Aug. 17.
The hospital district is proposing a $2.1 billion budget for fiscal year 2027, which runs from October 2026 to September 2027. The 6% increase over the current fiscal year takes into account the loss of Affordable Care Act enhanced subsidies, which were terminated at the end of 2025 and increased the risk of uncompensated care.
The budget includes $136 million in uncompensated care. UMC leaders told commissioners they could not specify how many people in El Paso County are losing health coverage because of the end of ACA tax credits, but said they were looking at national, state and local figures to project that.
“I think every hospital is worried about this,” said Jacob Cintron, hospital district CEO. “Patients when 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 gonna come.”
The budget also factors in a 2% merit raise at UMC and El Paso Children’s Hospital, as well as more than 200 new full-time employees.
In July, UMC raised the minimum wage for hourly workers to $15.50 per hour with intention to raise it to $16 in July 2027. UMC did not clarify which positions would be affected by the wage increase. The living wage in El Paso, or the hourly rate covering the cost of basic needs without additional assistance, for one adult with no children is $18.54, according to calculations by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The hospital district expects to bring in $2.1 billion in revenue next fiscal year, a 4% increase over the previous year.
Property taxes make up 8% of the hospital district’s total revenue, while patient service costs make up almost half. The rest comes from health insurance premiums, Medicaid supplementation and a mix of operating and non-operating revenue.
READ MORE: New UMC CEO to lead hospital through growth, bond projects
The hospital district projects a continuing rise in emergency room visits, both inpatient and outpatient admissions, and surgical cases at both UMC and El Paso Children’s.
The two hospitals are expected to record more than 132,000 ER visits next year, an 0.4% increase over last year and 65% increase since 2017
Though the county’s population has stagnated, the recent years’ addition of UMC standalone emergency rooms, a new surgical hospital on the Eastside, satellite clinics and specialty care such as high-level epilepsy monitoring have contributed to the increase in patient visits, UMC spokesperson Estefania Morgan said.
UMC has also launched a team led by Dr. Philip Fidler to treat severe burn victims, and plans to open a new geriatric clinic next to UMC. Both projects are funded by a $397 million bond El Paso voters approved in 2024.
An El Paso Matters analysis determined the county’s population is aging twice as fast as the rest of the nation as births and immigration decline, young people leave El Paso and lifespans lengthen. The shifting demographics bring a slew of age-related health concerns, from high blood pressure to Alzheimer’s disease to limited mobility.
READ MORE: El Paso County’s preliminary budget boosts pay, raises taxes
Residents can also comment during the next UMC board of managers meeting at 3 p.m. Aug. 11 in the eighth-floor boardroom of UMC main campus, 4815 Alameda Ave. People can also dial in or attend remotely through the link listed on meeting agendas.
Unlike most taxing entities in El Paso County, UMC does not attach presentations to its meeting agendas, livestream its meetings or post recordings of its meetings online.
Taxing entities throughout the county are introducing their proposed tax rates this month, which together add up to final homeowner’s property tax bills depending on what entities serve their home addresses.
The El Paso County Commissioners Court Monday introduced the voter-approval rate that could raise the county’s portion of the tax bill by about $164 a year on the average-value home in the county. The El Paso City Council on Tuesday introduced the voter-approval rate that if adopted could raise the city’s portion of property tax bills by $132 a year on the average value home in the city limits. Both will hold public hearings before adopting their final budgets and tax rates.
The post El Paso County Hospital District budgets pay raises, rise in uncompensated care appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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