HCA agrees with $646.5M final assessment on newly taxable Mission Health properties

Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare and Buncombe County in North Carolina have agreed on the value of newly taxable properties following HCA’s purchase of Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health, according to the Citizen Times.

An email provided to the publication showed that the for-profit hospital operator and county agree on a $646.5 million final assessment on Mission Health property and that HCA does not plan to appeal the amount.

HCA — which completed its $1.5 billion purchase of the six-hospital, nonprofit Mission Health system on Feb. 1 —had previously placed the values of its new Mission Health properties at $503 million, lower than the county's $633 million valuation as of Feb. 1, according to the Citizen Times report. The county’s latest assessed value, agreed to by HCA, was $646.5 million for 68 parcels, according to an April 12 email cited by the Citizen Times, from Nick Ruiz, a senior property tax manager at HCA, to county officials.

Mission spokesperson Nancy Lindell noted the final assessment came after various discussions between HCA and the county. The properties were not taxable when Mission owned them.

"We have always been privileged to contribute to the health and wellness of our communities throughout western North Carolina and welcome the opportunity to extend those contributions through the taxes we will pay as a result of our new tax status," Ms. Lindell told the Citizen Times.

Assuming the same county tax rate, HCA would reportedly pay about $5.9 million next year to the county, based on the most recently available information.

Read the full report here.

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