Would hospital tax breaks aid Utahns?

Utah lawmakers are exploring whether offering tax breaks to more hospitals and medical clinics could help lower health-care costs for consumers. The tax incentives would be like those now enjoyed by Intermountain Healthcare.

Sen. Michael Waddoups, R-West Jordan, believes the money saved by removing or altering the amount of sales, property and income taxes paid by health-care facilities could encourage them to reduce costs across the board.

The savings could also be directed into a state-controlled account to be used for underinsured or uninsured Utahns, he said.

"I am absolutely serious about this," Waddoups said. "I think this is an important issue that could help a lot of poor people."

The idea was discussed at a Thursday meeting of the Privately Owned Health Care Task Force, a body created following the 2005 legislative session to examine the state of Utah's health care market.

Waddoups' co-chairman, Rep. David Clark, R-Santa Clara, said he was "greatly intrigued" by a possible expansion of tax exempt status for health-care providers.

"The idea behind trying to find tools with which we can improve health-care coverage for the citizens of Utah by maybe broadening players at the table is an interesting concept," Clark said.

The changes would put Utah's for-profit hospitals on the same footing as Intermountain Healthcare, the state's largest health-care network. The nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation was donated to the state by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1975. As such, it is required to provide a certain amount of charity care each year.

In 2005, Intermountain's "gift to the community" was $401 million, $88 million of which was straightforward charity care, officials said Thursday. The rest includes things such as uncollected debts and volunteer time.

According to an analysis by task force staff members, for-profit hospitals paid an estimated $6.3 million in sales tax in 2001. Intermountain would have paid nearly $17 million if not for its tax-exempt status.

Intermountain Healthcare's tax exemption has been an issue for years, most recently during the 2005 legislative session when Waddoups ran a bill that would have imposed a 3 percent gross-receipts tax on the company.

On Thursday, Waddoups indicated he is now ready to go a different direction.

"All of the legislative actions in the past have been to restrict," he said. "I'm still interested in expanding it and making it easier."

Right now, Waddoups is looking at offering exemptions for three types of taxes — sales, property and income. Because property taxes are paid to counties, the senator said legislators would have to work with local governments on that element of the plan.