Board hears report that hospital charity plans show substantial community care, mental-health capacity

The Salt Lake County Board of Equalization received an informational report April 15, 2025, from its charity plan review committee that nonprofit hospital charity plans indicate substantial community benefit and the addition of new crisis mental-health services.

The committee reported that Intermountain Healthcare (IHC) and CommonSpirit Health presented charity plans showing significant charitable care. The committee also heard that the University of Utah’s Huntsman mental-health services are expanding online and that IHC has opened a new pediatric crisis-care facility. The committee noted the district attorney had approved the charity plans presented for the entities discussed.

Committee members said the charitable care described appeared to exceed the value of taxes otherwise due on the entities’ property and operations, and committee members encouraged hospital systems to share information about available services with county officials and the public. The committee’s discussion highlighted behavioral-health resources for youth as an important community benefit.

Committee members also noted a property-ownership detail raised during the meeting: several hospitals discussed do not own the land under their facilities. According to committee remarks, the land in at least one case is held by an entity associated with "Stewart" (as stated in the meeting record); the exemption under consideration was for tangible personal property (machinery and equipment), not land.

The charity-plan report was informational; formal votes on exemptions and related actions were scheduled elsewhere on the agenda (items 7.1–7.3).

No public comments were made on the charity plans during the public-comment period at the start of the meeting.