logo logo
Donate
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Social Justice
    • Racial Justice
    • Climate Justice
    • Disability Justice
    • Economic Justice
    • Health Justice
    • Immigration
    • LGBTQ+
  • Civic News
  • Nonprofit Leadership
    • Board Governance
    • Equity-Centered Management
    • Finances
    • Fundraising
    • Human Resources
    • Organizational Culture
    • Philanthropy
    • Power Dynamics
    • Strategic Planning
    • Technology
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Leading Edge Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Webinars

Nonprofit Newswire | Cities, Counties Getting Out of the Hospital Business

Bruce S Trachtenberg
August 31, 2010

 

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

August 29, 2010; Source: Wall Street Journal |Just when you think the social safety net can’t get shredded any more comes a disturbing report that growing numbers of local governments are ditching publicly run hospitals. According to the Wall Street Journal, governments are getting out of the hospital business because they can’t afford to keep these operations afloat. As the newspaper reports, “More than a fifth of the nation’s 5,000 hospitals are owned by governments and many are drowning in debt caused by rising health-care costs, a spike in uninsured patients, cuts in Medicare and Medicaid and payments on construction bonds sold in fatter times. Because most public hospitals tend to be solo operations, they don’t enjoy the economies of scale, or more generous insurance contracts, which bolster revenue at many larger nonprofit and for-profit systems.” Officials also fear that improvements mandated by the recent passage of the federal health care overhaul will cause them more pain. City and counties are selling or transferring their hospitals to private owners, and that raises concerns about what will happen to people who rely on these hospitals for medical care. Although most deals require that the new owners don’t shed existing services, the Journal notes that “skeptics worry that in the hunt for healthy returns, the for-profits will kill expensive programs and close hospitals with poor revenue.” Mayor David Carey of Peninsula Borough in Alaska is siding with residents who oppose a pending sale of more than 50 percent of a 40-year-old hospital to a for-profit group based in Texas. The mayor is concerned that over time the new owners will shed or shrink services. That would require residents to drive to Anchorage, 150 miles away. Says Carey, “The idea that the hospital could be sold again . . . or even shut down, is unacceptable.”—Bruce Trachtenberg

Our Voices Are Our Power.

Journalism, nonprofits, and multiracial democracy are under attack. At NPQ, we fight back by sharing stories and essential insights from nonprofit leaders and workers—and we pay every contributor.

Can you help us protect nonprofit voices?

Your support keeps truth alive when it matters most.
Every single dollar makes a difference.

Donate now
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

You might also like
Summer Camp in a Climate-Changed World
Alison Stine
Resisting Authoritarianism: How to Activate Civil Society’s Pillars of Support
Adam Fefer
Trust in Nonprofits Holds Strong Despite Political Attacks
Ted Siefer
IRS Weakens Johnson Amendment—Nonprofits Push Back
Isaiah Thompson
Get Funds Flowing: Lessons from the Boston Foundation
Candace Burton
Amid Heatwaves, a Growing Concern Rises About Data Centers
Rebekah Barber

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
July 24th, 2:00 pm ET

Organizing in Divided Times

The Relational Infrastructure We Need to Protect Democracy

Register
Group Created with Sketch.
September 24th-25th, 2:00 pm ET

Advanced QuickBooks for Nonprofits

Expert Guidance for Experienced QuickBooks Users

Register

    
You might also like
US Capitol Building
Trump Budget Bill Spells Trouble for Nonprofits
Isaiah Thompson
A group of about two dozen students, many wearing blue shirts, walk in the rain in front of the US House of Representatives.
How Nonprofits and Activists Can Oppose Trump’s “Big...
Matthew Rozsa
Conservatives Attack Nonprofits on Capitol Hill
Isaiah Thompson

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Donate
  • Editorial Policy
  • Funders
  • Submissions

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.