Champaign area Provena Covenant Medical Center must pay property taxes, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled. Provena didn't provide enough charity care, at least in the court's eyes. It mattered not that the hospital is part of a Catholic health system.
Other Illinois hospitals at risk for owing taxes include Michelle Obama's employer, University of Chicago Hospitals. She is currently on a leave of absence.
With this development, it appears all my health deform predictions may come true. This is no reason to celebrate, although Senator Chuck Grassley and Federation of American Hospitals CEO Chip Kahn may break out expensive bottles of champagne. They've long had a beef against nonprofit community hospitals.
Chucky and the Chipster get two wins today, the Illinois Supreme Court decision and a Reconciliation bill renaming community hospitals "private tax exempt facilities (PTEF)." PTEF uniquely rolls off the tongue.
Adding taxes won't bring down health care costs. Deform continues. Nonprofit community hospital survival is not the least bit guaranteed, not in this For-Profiteering environment.
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