A Cost/Benefit Analysis of Providing Tax-Exempt Status to Non-Profit Hospitals
18 Pages Posted: 11 Apr 1998
Date Written: December 1, 1997
Abstract
Many nonprofit hospitals have seen their tax-exempt status challenged in recent years. State and local governments, and investor-owned hospitals, are challenging the rationale for granting these tax exemptions. The amount of charity-care that nonprofit hospitals provide is being scrutinized and compared to the value of the tax exemptions these organizations enjoy. This paper examines four nonprofit hospitals in Pennsylvania. They collectively received $6,562,540 in tax exemption benefits, but provided only $2,468,563 in charity care to their local communities. Data for this study was collected from public sources, including tax assessment records and reports from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council.
JEL Classification: I18, H20
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation