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The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board questions Commissioner Moreno's proposal to tax hospitals who fail to deliver a full measure of indigent care. Shouldn't Cook County Commissioners simply listen to their own appointed panel & clean up the patronage gout?
Can't Run Cook County Hospital? Tax Competitors!
chicagotribune.com - 2 weeks ago - 65 views
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People: Mario Moreno
Organizations: Cook County government | Cook County hospital | County Board | Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council
Companies: Chicago Tribune
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Piling up on money-losing local medical care providers, fellow Windy Citizens?
Nonprofit hospitals don't pay taxes. They don't pay stockholders. They receive tax-free grants and donations (and the donors get tax breaks, too). They rake in huge revenues. For example, in its 2007 annual report, local Advocate Health recorded $3.5 billion in gross revenues.
And what do the taxpayers get for helping these hospitals to such huge revenues? Patient dumping. On Stroger and other public hospitals.
See more: 'Legal patient dumping' at local hospitals
Lutheran General: Pay first, and we'll put a Band-Aid on it
May I suggest that we simply collect money from those Cook County Hospital patients who have insurance or may otherwise afford to pay. Is there any excuse for having such a high uncollected accounts receivable asset account?
Having been through the process by which the county determines eligibility for financial assistance, yes, there is. You have to provide paycheck stubs or tax returns. For somebody like me, who has an intermittent income from self-employment, it's very tough. For people who aren't good at paperwork, it's tough.
You also have to prove proof of residence and citizenship. So a lot of people come to the hospital, get treated, and then don't fill out the paperwork for financial aid or can't qualify because they don't have the right papers. Their bills get written off as bad debt.
As do those of people whose insurance companies won't cover their treatment. But I can't imagine why anyone who has health insurance would go to Stroger Hospital to begin with.
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