CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Arizona Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. CQC developed the Arizona Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard based on recent findings from the Lown Institute, Patient Rights Advocate, the Rand Corporation, and other credible and respected sources about troubling practices at hospitals in Arizona. These practices are at odds with what the public expects from charitable organizations, especially since Arizona nonprofit hospitals collectively receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks each year.

In response to these disturbing findings, Consumers for Quality Care (CQC) released the following statement:

“Legally, nonprofit hospitals are charitable organizations, and in Arizona, these hospitals reap hundreds of millions of dollars in tax benefits because of their nonprofit status. Despite this, many nonprofit hospitals in Arizona seem to place a higher priority on making money than on providing affordable care to low-income members of the community. Some will deny non-emergency care to patients who owe them money. Some even have policies allowing them to sue their patients, including low-income patients, for unpaid medical bills. Many devote only the most meager resources to charity care and other community benefits. This is not what the public expects – or should accept – from these or any other charitable organizations. It’s time for Arizona’s nonprofit hospitals to put their patients first, before their profits. If they refuse to do so, then they should be held fully accountable to the communities that they have the responsibility to serve.”

Visit CQC’s Nonprofit Hospital Scorecards here.