Editorial: Tax exemption for hospitals due for review | Concord Monitor: Nonprofit hospitals are considered charities because they provide a community benefit, a good that has never been clearly defined by the IRS. One of those benefits is charity care, serving for free those who can’t pay and reducing fees for the uninsured who aren’t poor but still can’t pay jaw-dropping charges for medical treatment.
But if everyone has insurance, the need for charity care evaporates. If hospitals are getting paid for every service they provide by someone, and thus no longer providing charity care, why should they be considered tax exempt? Many health care economists and municipalities struggling to make ends meet have been asking that question for some time.
A story last week in the New York Times suggests it’s time for New Hampshire lawmakers to consider the question in earnest.
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