The Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council (MCHC) and the Illinois Hospital Association (IHA) on Nov. 6 challenged the Cook County Assessor’s report, Exempt Hospitals: Valuation Estimates and Appraisal Methodology, as a flawed attempt to estimate the property value of 54 tax-exempt hospitals in Cook County, Ill. The associations, which represent more than 200 hospitals and health systems in the Chicago area and across the state, are calling on policymakers, the news media, and the public to dismiss the report, which the groups say is based on incorrect assumptions and incomplete data.
The report purports to estimate the property value of the 54 tax-exempt hospitals in Cook County as well as the aggregate tax liability of these properties if they were on the tax rolls. However, the report is based on methods that the assessor’s office has labeled as “subjective” and had previously disregarded. Furthermore, the report makes no adjustments for the normal and customary appeals process, which can decrease these numbers by as much as 40 percent.
“Non-profit, tax-exempt hospitals in Cook County provide more than $2.3 billion dollars annually in free care, research, education, and other charitable community benefits; more than three times the budget of the County Bureau of Health and 10 times the assessor’s estimated tax liability," said Scott Ziomek, MCHC director of government relations. “The non-profit, mission-driven hospitals have shouldered the burden of last year’s $100 million cut in services to the county’s health system.” Read the press release.
