More than half of the sales tax that voters approved in November to finance Denver Health will go to emergency care, with smaller amounts funding a new clinic in the south-east of Denver and beds for mental health treatment.
Denver voters have accepted Increase the sales tax by 0.34 percentage pointsWhat works at 34 cents on a purchase of $ 100, to help the city safety hospital in the city.
2q voting question allowed Denver Health to use the product of emergency and trauma care; primary care; mental health care; drug addiction and recovery services; and pediatric care. All are services that generally do not make a profit for health systems.
Assuming that the economy does not fall into a recession, Denver Health plans to receive just over $ 5 million per month from the tax, which entered into force in January.
The $ 65 million in the sales tax this year and the annual contribution of $ 30.7 million in the city will compel to compensate for some of the approximately $ 145 million in unsu -up care that Denver Health provides in 2025, said Donna Lynne to Denver City Committee on the Denver Municipal Council Committee on the Denver Municipal Council on the Municipal Council on the Municipal Council de Denver on the Denver municipal council committee on Denver on the council of the municipal council of Denver on the Denver Council Committee Wednesday morning.
But it will not be enough to compensate for deep cups in Medicaid if the congress follows this fall, because a disproportionate part of patients in the system is based on the program, she said.
“2Q allows us to breathe for this eight-month period” before any cuts, she told the Committee.
The House Republicans have adopted a budget providing for $ 880 billion in the cut during the next decade. Medicaid is the only program big enough for this level of cuts that the Republicans have not promised to protect, although the Associated Press reported on Wednesday that Enthusiasm for deep cuts has decreased While legislators face the possibility that their voters can lose their health insurance.
Denver Health has been getting financially financially since 2021 While the cost of unpaid care increased more quickly than other income could not compensate for it. The health system lost around 35 million dollars in 2022, then turned a Profit of $ 17 million in 2023 – Always a close margin for an organization with a budget that exceeds $ 1 billion.
Unique funds state And Permanent Kaiser helped keep Denver Health afloat, but hospital managers presented the sales tax as a more permanent solution, although incomplete.
The largest share of this year’s sales tax revenues, estimated at $ 36.2 million, will compensate for the cost of emergency care, including care for people not insured and around a third of ambulance races that Denver Health cannot receive payment, said Lynne.
“Our goal … was to maintain our funding in what we call priority areas,” she said.
About $ 16.1 million will go to primary care, including a new clinic for the southeast of Denver and services in existing ambulatory locations, Lynne said.
Pediatric services will receive a smaller share, with around 2.5 million dollars assigned to a new clinic in schools and other children’s services. The pediatric part is smaller because most of the care that children receive are relatively inexpensive, she said.
The system also plans to spend about $ 13.9 million in mental health care and $ 2 million for drug addiction and recovery services.
An important part of it will go to open 10 “med-psycho” beds for people who need both mental health treatment for hospitalized patients and care in the hospital for physical illnesses, said Lynne. When these beds open, perhaps at the end of the summer, they will be the only option in Colorado for people with these needs, she said.
“We have tried to balance what we need that medical payment ($ 30.7 million in the city) does not cover new services,” she said.
Register for our weekly newsletter to send the health news directly to your reception box.