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 Louisiana Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard based on recent findings from Axios, the Lown Institute, the Urban Institute, and others about troubling practices at hospitals in Louisiana. These practices are at odds with what the public expects from charitable organizations, especially since Louisiana nonprofit hospitals collectively receive billions of dollars in tax breaks each year.

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

Nonprofit hospitals in Louisiana aren’t acting like nonprofits at all. Many are overcharging their patients while at the same time not being transparent about the prices they charge. Each year, they receive hundreds of millions more in tax breaks than what they spend on charity care. Louisiana’s nonprofit hospitals are making big bucks at the expense of their patients and Uncle Sam. That has to stop. These hospitals should either live up to their missions as charitable organizations or be held accountable for giving the taxpayer a raw deal.