Health Care District of Palm Beach County Lowers Taxes While Expanding Services
Press Release
Palm Springs, FL – At its public Truth in Millage (TRIM) hearing Wednesday, the Health Care District of Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners voted to reduce its millage by 13.7% to 0.8993. This millage rate is 7.7% below the rolled-back rate, the tax rate which generates the same amount of tax revenue as the previous year. This means a homeowner with a house valued at $250,000 with a $50,000 homestead exemption would pay approximately $179.86 in taxes, $28.66 less than last year. The tax reduction comes at the same time the Health Care District is expanding services and access points for care throughout the county.
“It’s important that we strive to maximize the taxpayer investment while staying true to our mission of being the health care safety net for Palm Beach County,” said Philip H. Ward III, Chair of the Health Care District Board.
The Health Care District is in the process of adding behavioral health services through its Federally Qualified Health Centers, the C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics, and its health coverage program. The Brumback Clinics provide medical and dental services to adults and children with or without insurance and have eight sites throughout the county in Belle Glade, Delray Beach, Lake Worth, Lantana and West Palm Beach. This year the Brumback Clinics also plan to add dental care and women’s health services at the Lake Worth clinic. By mid-2017, the Health Care District anticipates adding a new North County clinic in the Jupiter area as well as a new Southwest County clinic to meet the medical needs of the underserved in these areas.
“The Health Care District is proud to be a resource for health care in our community,” said Darcy J. Davis, Chief Executive Officer of the Health Care District of Palm Beach County. “We are continually looking for opportunities to fill care gaps in the community while being mindful of the importance of delivering services cost-efficiently.”
The Health Care District is a public health system that also staffs Registered Nurses in nearly 170 public schools, funds and oversees a nationally recognized Trauma System which includes owning, operating and maintaining two Trauma Hawk air ambulances, providing health coverage for eligible uninsured residents, operating a pharmacy program, operating the Edward J. Healey Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Riviera Beach and providing acute care hospital services at the county’s only public hospital, Lakeside Medical Center in Belle Glade. The Health Care District’s approved expenditure budget for the 2017 fiscal year is $246 million.
This year, the Health Care District is one of the few taxing authorities in the county that is reducing taxes for county property owners. Since 1990 the Health Care District has lowered the millage 16 times and the cumulative millage has decreased 28 percent.
Contact:
Robin Kish
Director of Public Relations, 561.804.5828
About the Health Care District:
The Health Care District of Palm Beach County provides adult and pediatric services at the C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics throughout the county, health coverage programs for uninsured residents, a pharmacy operation, a nationally recognized Trauma System, dedicated nurses in nearly 170 public schools, a long-term skilled nursing and rehabilitation center, and acute care hospital services at Lakeside Medical Center, the county’s only public hospital, serving the rural western Palm Beach County communities along the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee.