NY hospitals invest offshore amid tax exemption debate: 5 things to know

Despite receiving tax exemptions in the U.S., some New York hospitals have invested billions in offshore financial networks, according to the Democrat and Chronicle.

The revelation was first noted in the Panama Papers, a report leaked in May documenting how corporate executives and political leaders funneled millions into Central American banks.

The USA Today network analyzed additional fiscal records and interviewed financial experts, lawyers and politicians about New York nonprofit hospitals' offshore investments.

Here are five key findings from the report.

1. Nonprofit hospitals' tax-exempt property in New York increased in value from $22.7 million to $13.1 million over a period of 16 years. The number of properties benefiting from the exemptions also increased from 2,400 to 2,600 during that time period.

2. In 2014, 16 hospitals and health systems in New York had invested $2.6 billion in the Caribbean and Central America.

3. Four hundred New York hospital officials received nearly $177,500, on average, in bonuses in 2014. Many of the hospitals paying out the largest bonuses retained offshore investments, according to the article.

4. New York City-based Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center retained the highest number of offshore investments at $1.1 billion in 2014. University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical School ranked second at $656 million and North Shore University Hospital, also based in New York City, ranked third at $337 million.

5. New York courts have historically protected tax exempt hospitals. However, lawsuits in both New Jersey and Illinois are challenging those protections.

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