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Kenmore council endorses Evergreen Health levy lid lift; CEO warns of Medicaid funding threat
Summary
Evergreen Health representatives asked Kenmore council for support of a levy lid lift that would increase the general levy from $0.14 to $0.50 per $1,000 of assessed value to expand local primary care, behavioral health and preserve services. The council adopted a resolution supporting Public Hospital District No. 2 Proposition 1 unanimously.
Dr. Ettore Palazzo, CEO of Evergreen Health, presented the hospital district’s request for a maintenance-and-operations levy lid lift that will appear on the Aug. 5 primary ballot as Public Hospital District No. 2, Proposition 1. Palazzo said the district is seeking to raise the general levy from the current $0.14 per $1,000 assessed valuation by 36 cents to $0.50 per $1,000 to align with other public hospital districts and to fund expanded primary-care access, embedded behavioral health in clinics, imaging and equipment upgrades, and procedural capacity.
Palazzo described broader financial pressure on hospitals and said federal legislation passed Jan. 3 (referred to in his presentation as the “1 Big Beautiful Bill Act”) could reduce federal Medicaid funding and increase uncompensated-care burdens unless states offset reductions. He told the council, “When expenses rose significantly greater than revenue did ... we see this sort of difficulty,” and said the levy increase would help the district preserve and expand services locally.
Palazzo and several Evergreen Health commissioners — Virgil Snyder (board chair), Suzanne Greatenhouse (Kenmore-Kirkland subdistrict representative) and Robin Campbell (at-large) — were present for questions. Council members asked about local behavioral-health services; Palazzo said two pilot clinics — including the Kenmore clinic — already have embedded behavioral health and have been “wildly successful” and that the levy would expand such services to other clinics.
The council then considered a resolution expressing the city’s support for Proposition 1. A motion to approve Resolution 25-431 carried unanimously on a roll-call vote: Council members Shrevnick, Marshall, Culver, Lutzes, Sassen, Deputy Mayor O’Kane and Mayor Herbig all voted yes. After the motion and vote, a virtual public commenter, Stacy Valenzuela, told the council she opposed the levy lift on equity grounds and urged the district to seek grants or private funding instead. “Rather than tax more residents out of their homes with a levy lift that will cause financial burden, apply for the numerous grants, or seek private entity requests,” Valenzuela said.
The resolution is advisory support from the city; approval or defeat of the levy will be decided by district voters on Aug. 5. The council took formal action by adopting the support resolution at the meeting.
