Whether nonprofit hospitals do enough to justify their lucrative tax-exempt status has become the focal point of a national debate. Our story looked at the level of charity care such hospitals provide to low-income and uninsured patients, along with the tax breaks they receive. We contrasted that with the levels of charity care provided by for-profit and public hospitals. Major findings included: * The East Bay’s nonprofit hospitals benefited from at least $81 million in tax breaks in 2005, while providing less than $43 million in charity care. * Statewide, in three of the past five years, the average for-profit hospital provided higher levels of charity care than the average nonprofit institution. * More than half of local nonprofit hospitals had charity care figures well belowthe state average. * Charity care has declined sharply at one of the East Bay’s most financially successful nonprofit hospitals. The John Muir Health system provided less than half the level of charity care in 2005 that it did in 2001. * Patients often have difficulty learning about charity care and how to apply for it. Our audit revealed that many local hospitals had not revised their written charity care policies to comply with a new state law.
