The board of directors for Kootenai Health met Dec. 6 to discuss transitioning the hospital district from a government-owned entity to a nonprofit, according to Becker’s.
Trustees analyzed a Kootenai white paper, which details the pros, cons and considerations of transitioning to a nonprofit 501(c)3. The Idaho Legislature voted almost unanimously to pass House Bill 603, which updates a statute to allow public district hospitals to transition to nonprofits. The bill went into effect July 1.
If Coeur d’Alene, Idaho-based Kootenai — which has been a hospital district since 1956 — converted to a nonprofit, it would relinquish its taxing authority, sovereign immunity and power of eminent domain, according to the report. Kootenai has not exercised its taxing authority since 1995, but the amount of tax revenue that it could take in would be insignificant compared to today’s costs, CEO Jon Ness said.
Some board members have called for a public vote on the potential conversion. However the law only provides for such a vote if a hospital district is being sold to a private entity, according to the report. Only a hospital district district’s board – who are elected by county residents — can make the decision to convert to a nonprofit. Read more.
