https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zikgppxCFnA

Non-profit hospitals aren't truly "not-for-profit" entities. As the video showed, UPMC is one such hospital that has the title of a non-profit, but its CEO is making over $6 million annually with multiple assistants making $1 million annually, only 2% of the hospital's profits go towards charity care, and over the course of the past 2 years the profits have totaled nearly $1 billion. All that is required for a hospital to claim that it is a non-profit is to have its profits returned to the hospital for operations instead of paid out to hospital shareholders. Nearly two-thirds of hospitals in the U.S. claim non-profit status.

The problem with models like this where hospitals are able to claim "non-profit" status but aren't actually serving as a true non-profit (as we would recognize most other non-profit organizations such as Salvation Army) is that the cost is passed on to the average citizen and patient. Non-profits are afforded multiple tax cuts and allocated benefits by the millions in exchange for their contributions to society (in the form of being non-profit), and as the hospital's grow, they experience an increase in power which allows them to set their own prices. This leads to patients and people paying more. When only 2% of total profits are allocated towards charity causes and UPMC hospitals close their locations in disadvantaged areas but open new ones in more affluent areas, the non-profit isn't serving its purpose as a non-profit at helping those who really need it but cannot afford it.

How does this model impact overall health care costs for the average U.S. citizen? Where is the economic balance in generating revenue and increasing health outcomes?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

This nonprofit hospital model has several impacts on overall healthcare costs for US citizens 1 Lack ... View the full answer