According to the report, more than half of the 5,482 hospitals in the United States do not pay federal, state or local taxes in return for providing charity care. However, recent reports have suggested that some non-profit hospitals receive tax breaks greater breaks than the amount of charity care they provide.
Senate Finance Committee leaders Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R- Iowa) have proposed requiring non-profit hospitals to provide a minimum amount of charity care and limiting charges and collection tactics to the uninsured.
Non-profit hospitals are wary of the changes, especially in light of recent agreements by hospitals to provide $155 billion in savings to the federal government, according to the report.
Read the Wall Street Journal’s report on the possible reduced hospital tax breaks.
