Summit Oaks Hospital faces a $5.8 million annual fee under an ordinance the Union County Board of County Commissioners adopted Thursday, Aug. 27.
Ordinance 867-2026, posted on the county's public notice page, sets the Summit hospital's assessment at $5,796,091 per year. The fee is part of the Union County Option Hospital Fee Program, which assesses six non-public hospitals within county borders.
The assessment is calculated at a rate of $1,776.31 per hospital discharge, based on each facility's total discharges in calendar year 2024. Summit Oaks will pay in four quarterly installments, each equal to 25 percent of the annual total. Under the ordinance, the assessment constitutes a debt owed to the county from the time each installment is due until it is paid.
Six hospitals, $74.6 million total
Summit Oaks is one of six hospitals assessed under the ordinance. The largest share falls on Overlook Medical Center at $38,764,359. The full list:
- Overlook Medical Center: $38,764,359
- Trinitas Regional Medical Center: $20,940,889
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway: $8,538,710
- Summit Oaks Hospital: $5,796,091
- Kindred Hospital of Rahway: $358,814
- CareOne at Trinitas Regional Medical Center: $182,960
The combined total: roughly $74.6 million.
How the ordinance reached adoption
The New Jersey Department of Human Services approved the county's Fee & Expenditure Report on June 24, with the assessment amounts effective July 1. The Board of County Commissioners introduced the ordinance on first reading at its July 30 meeting and adopted it on Thursday, Aug. 27.
The ordinance amends Chapter 41 of the Laws of Union County, which established the county's Hospital Fee Program. It defines assessed hospitals as non-public facilities that provide inpatient services, based on cost reports filed as of Dec. 31, 2025.
The public notice does not include an individual vote tally. It also does not specify how the county plans to spend the fee revenue. No public statements from Chairman Joseph C. Bodek or other commissioners about the ordinance appeared in county records as of publication. Summit Oaks Hospital has not commented publicly on the assessment.
Residents who want to review the full ordinance text can find it on file with James E. Pellettiere, Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners.
