PORT ANGELES — Voters in Public Hospital District 2 have approved a levy lid lift that will increase Olympic Medical Center’s property tax collection rate of 31 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to 75 cents per $1,000, the maximum amount allowed under state law.
Initial results from Tuesday’s primary election showed 59.34 percent of voters supported the measure.
“I’m waiting to get across the finish line,” said Darryl Wolfe, OMC’s chief executive officer. “They still have 9,000 more votes to count.”
He was nonetheless pleased with the outcome.
“We’re grateful people were so supportive, and we’re humbled by the support of the community to make this happen. We know it was a big ask.”
Hospital Commissioner Philip Giuntoli said passing the levy won’t solve OMC’s revenue problems, but it is certainly helpful.
“This gets us closer to financial stability, although we still have some intangible challenges,” he said.
Those primarily involve government programs like Medicare and Medicaid that constitute 85 percent of OMC’s patient revenue but that don’t fully pay for the cost of care.
Medicare reimbursements, for example, cover about 82 cents per dollar for care.
Wolfe has said the only real relief for OMC will come at the federal level with significant changes to how Medicare and Medicaid reimburse hospitals.
Critical access hospitals such as Jefferson Healthcare and Forks Community Hospital that have 25 beds or fewer are reimbursed by government providers based on the cost of care.
An OMC talking point throughout the campaign was that the levy increase was necessary to protect cruicial 24-7 operations such as labor and delivery, emergency services and trauma care. It would also keep care local and support the local workforce. OMC is the county’s largest employer, with more than 1,600 employees.
OMC is among the 85 percent of hospitals in the state that are losing money. It sustained $28 million in operating losses in 2023.
The levy increase will generate about $12 million a year — about double the amount it currently collects.
OMC’s tax levy rate was last adjusted in 2008, when 54 percent of voters approved increasing it to 44 cents from the original 11-cent levy set in 1947 to create the public hospital district. Since that time, the collection rate has dropped to 31 cents per $1,000.
Commissioner Anne Henninger said the levy victory was a sign of support from the community.
“I think it was motivated by valuing OMC and what we do and wanting us to continue helping people,” she said.
________
Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
