Fort Bend County hospital district proposition delayed

“We believe that this is an important initiative to ensure that Fort Bend County residents have access to quality and affordable health care,” Frazier said in an emailed statement. “It is also our desire that the costs and benefits of any Fort Bend County program are assessed and communicated effectively to the public.”

In case you missed it

Fort Bend County Health & Human Services proposed adding the creation of a hospital district to Nov. 5 election ballots at an Aug. 1 special Commissioners Court meeting.

The $12.5 million annual cost would be covered by taxpayers with a tax rate of $0.0106 per $100 property valuation, which would be $32 per year, or $2.67 per month, for a resident with a $300,000 home value, County Auditor Robert Sturdivant said.

Dr. Letosha Gale-Lowe, FBCHHS director and local health authority, said the district would help address health care gaps and mental health issues by:

• Expanding the eligibility requirements of the existing County Indigent Health Care program
• Creating a county health care access card program
• Developing the Family Medicine Residency Program
• Creating a mental health drop-off center
• Developing mental health partnership outreach services

What’s next?

Community Impact reached out for more information about what the analysis would look like and a timeline for when voters could see the item on a future ballot, but the information was not returned by press time.