Two local hospitals are worried about funding due to a personal property tax elimination proposal for businesses in Idaho and federal “fiscal cliff” cuts.

Both Power County Hospital District and Caribou Memorial Hospital officials are bracing for financial difficulties although nothing is certain yet.

PCHD administrator Dallas Clinger said the elimination of personal property taxes could ultimately shut the 10-bed, critical access hospital down.

He said the hospital, which only made $95,000 in profits last year and $8,600 the year before that, couldn’t easily absorb the hundreds of thousands of dollars it stands to lose if the tax is cut.

“If $300,000 was taken out of our revenue stream we would not survive without major changes and I’m not sure what those would be,” he said.

Although the elimination of personal property taxes would help some hospitals that pay the tax, it could devastate district hospitals, like PCHD, he said.

The hospital is small, but Clinger said it’s vital to the community.

“It’s 27 miles from the emergency room door in Pocatello,” he said, adding that it’s important to get help for patients as soon as possible, and the journey just adds more time.

In addition, the hospital makes a difference in the local economy, he said, adding that it has a $3.5 million payroll and 100 specialized healthcare employees who will likely leave the area if the hospital shuts down.

“(This proposed) legislation only helps big businesses in the state and it could drive our little hospital out of the community,” he said.

Although Caribou Memorial Hospital hasn’t received any tax funding from the county since 2009, administrator John Hoopes said he is still worried about the impact eliminating personal property taxes would have on the community.

“Losing personal property tax funds may not immediately affect CMH, but the loss of these funds would be devastating to Caribou County,” he said.

But even if state legislators decide not to eliminate the taxes, Hoopes said CMH will likely face other funding challenges due to federal cuts.

Hoopes said that according to a report from the Idaho Hospital Association, CMH could lose $86,000 due to Medicare and proposed “fiscal cliff” cuts for the fiscal year 2013. In addition, the state is cutting what it pays CMH for nursing home care by $22 per resident per day, which equates to $200,000 a year, he said.

“At the same time federal and state regulations are causing CMH to have to invest more time, energy and money to provide necessary services to the residents,” he said.

And since more people are caring for loved ones at home rather than placing them in assisted living facilities, partly due to the economy, the hospital has fewer residents to help cover operating expenses and those they do have typically require more care, Hoopes said.

He isn’t sure how CMH will deal with the cuts since he doesn’t have any final numbers yet.