Some for-profit hospitals spend more on charity care for the poor than do some non-profit hospitals, according to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
While the report did not say which for-profits provided the higher levels of charity care, an analysis by the AJC found that 18 tax-exempt hospitals in Georgia, including Atlanta-area juggernaut Piedmont Health, spent less than 3 percent of adjusted gross revenue on charity care. While hospitals are not currently required to provide a certain level of charity care to maintain their tax exemption, Georgia's Department of Community Health requires new facilities to provide charity care equal to 3 percent of adjusted gross revenue to receive a certificate of need, according to the report.
A representative for the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, an alliance of non-profit facilities, said non-profit hospitals provide additional benefits worth "far more than their exemptions," due to the value of research and operating unprofitable services, according to the report.
Read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution report on charity care.
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While the report did not say which for-profits provided the higher levels of charity care, an analysis by the AJC found that 18 tax-exempt hospitals in Georgia, including Atlanta-area juggernaut Piedmont Health, spent less than 3 percent of adjusted gross revenue on charity care. While hospitals are not currently required to provide a certain level of charity care to maintain their tax exemption, Georgia's Department of Community Health requires new facilities to provide charity care equal to 3 percent of adjusted gross revenue to receive a certificate of need, according to the report.
A representative for the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, an alliance of non-profit facilities, said non-profit hospitals provide additional benefits worth "far more than their exemptions," due to the value of research and operating unprofitable services, according to the report.
Read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution report on charity care.