Often-heard claims by nonprofit health systems that they are teetering on insolvency are largely ignored by the public, especially in communities where such systems are building new hospitals, according to an Aug. 14 viewpoint from a health policy analyst.
Ownership status of such facilities matters far less to the public than access to services, writes Paul Keckley in The Keckley Report. Meanwhile, nonprofit hospitals are facing greater scrutiny over the effect of consolidation on pricing and how health systems account for uncompensated care and other community benefits.
Some larger systems also face persistent criticism over inadequate community benefits, excessive executive pay and aggressive patient debt collection, he added.
"It's clear that not-for-profit hospitals pose a unique target for detractors," he writes. "No sector owns the franchise for certainty about the future of U.S. healthcare nor its moral high ground. That includes not-for-profit hospitals."
Nonprofit systems are part of the nation's healthcare problem, he concludes, though not alone.
"Are NFP hospitals a problem? Some are, most aren't but all are impacted by the darkening cloud."