Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to commonly asked questions about the 1% sales tax are listed below. Still have unanswered questions? Send us a note via the contact form at the bottom of the page.
Be sure to vote on August 4, 2026!
The question on the August 4, 2026, primary ballot is whether to approve a special-purpose 1% city-wide sales tax to support Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital.
The exact question on the ballot is: “Shall the City of El Dorado, Kansas, be authorized to impose a special purpose one percent (1%) City-wide retailers' sales tax (the “Sales Tax”), the revenues derived therefrom to be applied to for the financial support of the Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital, including but not limited to supporting hospital operations and capital expenditures, the collection of the Sales Tax to commence on January 1, 2027, or as soon thereafter as permitted by law, and to terminate seven (7) years after its commencement?” Voters can choose YES or NO.
Collection will begin January 1, 2027.
Like many Kansas hospitals, Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital faces a number of financial challenges, and the sales tax revenue will help us stabilize operations and ensure we are able to continue providing care in the long term. Some factors contributing to ongoing losses include the following.
We are a nonprofit, Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospital. This means we are reimbursed by Medicare and Medicaid using predetermined, fixed rates for patient services.
Costs are rising, and major insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid, do not pay for the actual cost of care.
For example: A four-shot rabies series is needed for patients who experience an animal bite. The cost (for medication only) is $4,687.41. Our hospital receives only $1,669.65 in reimbursement for this medication.
We provide a safety net for the uninsured and underinsured and treat everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital covered $5.5 million in uncompensated care in 2025.
Of our current nursing staff, 31% are contract workers, which increases our labor costs.
We need to purchase $2.6 million in critical equipment to maintain the highest standards of care.
A cybersecurity event in 2025 caused significant, unanticipated expenses.
This special sales tax will add 1% to the cost of items purchased in the City of El Dorado.
If you buy a $10.00 item, a 1% tax adds exactly $0.10 in tax, making your total $10.10.
If you buy a $5.00 item, the 1% tax adds $0.05.
About 40% of sales tax paid in El Dorado is collected from people who live outside the community but are making purchases here, so anyone shopping in El Dorado would contribute.
A sales tax captures revenue from everyone who purchases goods in the City of El Dorado, including people who may use our hospital but don’t pay property taxes. Sharing this burden broadens the tax base and does not further tax property owners.
A sales tax also provides a steady revenue stream without further increasing property taxes.
We have applied for grants for specific purposes, but the hospital receives no other public support.
We receive private donations, but those contributions are typically earmarked for special purposes, and our Foundation dollars are restricted from contributing to the current operational needs.
If the measure passes, the hospital will receive a little more than $3 million per year from the sales tax for the next seven years.
Although our community is generous, donor support is generally tied to a specific service or capital purchase rather than operating funds for our facility to use as we see fit.
Our Foundation and Auxiliary organization provided just under $300,000 of support per year in 2024 and 2025.
The Foundation is limited in that only 5% of the endowment funds can be drawn annually, and 29% are restricted funds.
We have applied for competitive grant support in the past, but those grants are for specific projects rather than operating funds. Recent grant requests were not selected for funding.
The costs of delivering healthcare have risen nationally in recent years for many reasons, including an aging population, increased regulation and general inflation. According to a March 2026 American Hospital Association report, in 2025 alone, total hospital expenses grew 7.5%, expenses for supplies increased 9.9% and drugs increased 13.6%. Workforce expenses rose 5.6% from the previous year.
We’ve seen a rise in the amount of uncompensated care we provide for patients who are uninsured and unable to pay. In 2025, our hospital covered $5.5 million in uncompensated care.
Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance reimbursement rates also continue to fall well short of the cost of care, meaning we are forced to provide care at a loss.
Although hospitals advocate for necessary policy changes to help address these problems in the long run, many of these issues are beyond individual hospitals’ immediate control.
The current management team and the board of trustees are committed to realigning, and we are seeking support from the community to help us reach that goal. We’ve taken necessary steps to cut expenses and improve services in the last few years.
New hospital leadership has reestablished partnerships with local providers and worked diligently to improve patient experiences.
We have offered new services, made improvements to quality of care and become an in-network provider for additional insurances used in our community.
We changed our Emergency Department (ED)/hospitalist provider group. The new group works with local medical oversight, including daily rounds and collaboration with local providers.
We have identified and continue to look for opportunities to increase revenue by providing services our community needs. For example, we have doubled our swing bed patients by enhancing internal collaboration efforts from provider and nursing staff to increase our ability to provide post-acute care, including nursing and rehabilitation to patients who need recovery time before resuming independent living.
Quality scores have improved.
Our emergency room average wait times decreased from four hours to 30 minutes.
Sepsis care compliance rates (for patients with life-threatening response to an infection) improved from 25% to 88% according to evidence-based best practices.
Provider communication improved from the 4th percentile to the 89th percentile when measured against other hospitals.
Patients who leave without being seen decreased from 4% to 1%.
Overall, transfers to other facilities decreased because of ED/hospitalist collaboration.
From 2023-24, we reduced expenses by $1.1 million.
Yes, most community hospitals in Kansas receive public support. In a 2025 Kansas Hospital Association survey of hospitals around the state, 74% reported receiving support through a mill levy and/or sales tax. Public funding provides more than $55 million each year to these Kansas hospitals.
The minimum combined 2026 sales tax rate for El Dorado is 7.5%. This total rate includes the 6.5% Kansas state tax and a 1.0% El Dorado city tax. Some specific locations within El Dorado may have higher rates because of additional Community Improvement District (CID) taxes.
Sales tax rates in Andover, Augusta, Towanda, Benton and Newton are 8.5%.
Whitewater’s sales tax rate is 7.5%.
Eureka’s sales tax rate is 9.5%.
In Wichita, sales taxes vary from 7.5% to 9.5%.
SBAMH audited financials reveal no misappropriation of funds.
SBAMH’s goal is to ensure our financial situation is sustainable at the end of the seven-year period of the sales tax. We have already taken measures to build efficiencies. We will use sales tax funds to help reduce reliance on higher-cost contract staff in favor of attracting local talent. We are also working to change our reimbursement structure from insurance carriers to increase revenue. Continuing to engage in political advocacy in partnership with the Kansas Hospital Association and working with Kansas and federal lawmakers to support needed legislation is a crucial part of our strategy.