Are Ohio Hospitals Living Up to Their Non-Profit Status?”

Monday, June 13, 2005

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:

Monday, June 13, 2005

Contact: Ramona Ragland

(614) 466-3100

ramona.ragland@ohr.state.oh.us

“Are Ohio Hospitals Living Up to Their Non-Profit Status?”

Rep. Barbara Sykes to host a bi-partisan fact-finding hearing on whether Ohio’s hospitals are earning their tax exemptions; legislators will hear from industry officials, academics, and other prominent voices

Columbus – A bi-partisan panel of legislators will convene on Thursday, June 16, to hear testimony on the question of whether Ohio’s hospitals are living up to their obligations as non-profit tax-exempt institutions.

The special fact-finding hearing will be hosted by State Representative Barbara Sykes (District 44-Akron), who earlier this year introduced an amendment to the state budget that would have limited the prices hospitals can charge uninsured and underinsured Ohioans. The proposal came after the March release of a report by “Care for Ohio” showing that uninsured and underinsured Ohioans are often expected to pay more than twice the price charged to insured hospital patients.

The hearing comes at a time when non-profit hospitals’ tax exemptions are increasingly being scrutinized by Congress, the Internal Revenue Service, state Attorneys General, and other public officials around the country.

“There are too many unanswered questions surrounding hospitals’ tax-exempt status and their pricing, collections, and charity care policies,” says Rep. Sykes. “It’s time to take a long, hard look at the non-profit hospital industry in Ohio.”

What: Legislative Fact-Finding Hearing

When: Thursday, June 16, 2:00pm – 3:00 pm

Where: Committee Room 116, Ohio State House of Representatives

Invited speakers include:

Minnesota’s Office of the Attorney General, which recently made headlines by negotiating agreements with many of the state’s hospital systems.
Ohio Hospital Association
Care for Ohio
Policy Matters Ohio, which conducted research on hospital property tax exemptions in Cuyahoga County.
Ohio University Professor Deborah Thorne, co-author of the recent Harvard study on personal bankruptcies and medical debt.

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