Supervisor of Assessments v. Group Health Ass'n

COLE, Judge.

The question we must decide in this case is whether a nonprofit health maintenance organization (HMO), which operates primarily to provide health care services to its prepaid members, is a “charitable organization” for purposes of the property tax exemption provided by Maryland Code (1957, 1980 Repl.Vol.), Art. 81, § 9(e)(2).

We summarize the salient facts as follows. Appellee, Group Health Association, Inc. (GHA), is a nonprofit HMO and is exempt from federal income tax under § 501(c)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code. GHA operates seven health centers in the Washington, D.C.,…