How the property tax amendment could reshape funding for Florida’s public hospitals
WUSF |
By
Ana Lizama
Published July 13, 2026 at 5:00 AM EDT
Wilfredo Lee
/
AP
On “The Florida Roundup,” one expert warned that reduced revenue could force health systems to make difficult decisions about the services they provide
In November, Florida voters will decide whether to approve a proposed constitutional amendment that would reduce property taxes for homeowners across the state. If approved, the measure would increase the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $250,000
Under the proposal, homeowners who purchase a property after December 2026 would receive a $50,000 homestead exemption each year for four years before becoming eligible for the full exemption
While many homeowners support the proposal as a way to reduce their tax burden, others have raised concerns about how lower property tax revenue could affect local governments and the public services they fund
According to experts, property taxes generate nearly $8 billion in revenue across Florida, helping support services ranging from public safety and infrastructure to healthcare
Some public hospitals, including Halifax Health in Daytona Beach and Sarasota Memorial Hospital, receive funding through local property taxes
Friday on “The Florida Roundup,” host Tom Hudson reported that Halifax Health collected about $21 million in property tax revenue in 2024
In Florida, the state funds the Medicaid program but counties are also required to make annual contributions based on the number of Medicaid enrollees living in their communities. As a result, any reduction in local property tax revenue could place additional pressure on county budgets as officials balance healthcare spending with other essential services
Justin Senior, chief executive officer of the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, said public hospitals have worked over the years to reduce their reliance on property tax revenue. Those funds continue to play an important role in helping hospitals maintain a positive operating margin while providing care that often generates little or no financial return
“These hospitals see patients that other hospitals generally are not willing to see,” Senior said. “They run every line of business regardless of the margin, and are located in areas where they end up with a lot of uninsured patients and a lot of low-income Medicaid patients.”
According to Florida Health Charts, more than 4 million Floridians — about 17% of the state’s population — were enrolled in Medicaid in 2025
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Although Senior said it is difficult to predict exactly how the proposed tax changes would affect hospitals, he warned that reduced revenue could force health systems to make difficult decisions about the services they provide
As an example, Senior pointed to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where a transplant unit operates year-round despite serving a relatively small number of patients compared to other departments in the same medical center. While those programs are essential, he said, they can also be among the most expensive to maintain
“If you’re put under pressure, you have to make decisions about what type of care you’re going to continue providing and the level of care that you can provide,” Senior said
During the interview, he added that it will be “interest” to see how it will work out if the amendment gets passed, but reminded everyone that those institutions have other
“We have commercial payers and then we have government payers like Medicaid and Medicare,” Senior said. “A for-profit hospital is going to run lines of business where they have high volume and high margin, whereas the public hospitals are going to run lines of business that maybe there aren’t as many.”
As Florida voters prepare to weigh the proposed amendment in November, supporters argue it could provide meaningful tax relief for homeowners. Health care leaders, however, say the long-term effects on public hospitals and other locally funded services remain an important part of the conversation
This story was compiled from interviews conducted by Tom Hudson for “The Florida Roundup.” Click here to listen to the full conversation
