While nonprofit hospitals are organized as charities to deliver affordable health care to those in their communities who can’t afford it, some of America’s largest nonprofits are making large profits and charging patients high prices. Many nonprofit hospitals across Michigan are engaging in practices that are at odds with what the public expects from charitable hospitals, according to reports by PatientRightsAdvocate.org, MedicalDebtPolicyScorecard.org, and the Lown Institute.
Last updated: March 16, 2026 at 11:13am
Charity Care Spending
Michigan averaged a “fair share deficit” of $ 605 million dollars from 2020 to 2022 , according to the Lown Institute Hospitals Index. In other words, Michigan’s nonprofit hospitals pocketed a whopping $ 605 million more in tax breaks than they spent on community benefits and charity care for low-income patients. In fact, the Lown Institute found that 75 % of Michigan’s nonprofit hospitals averaged a fair share deficit for that period .1
Hospital Collection Policies
Most hospitals (59%) allow at least one extraordinary collection action, like wage garnishments, selling debt to a third party or denying non-emergency care. Of the 62 Michigan hospitals investigated by the Lown Institute from June 2024 to April 2025, 76% had written policies allowing them to take legal actions against patients for unpaid medical debt. Eleven Michigan hospitals’ policies even allowed them to deny nonemergency care to patients who owe the hospital money.2
Medical Debt & Consumer Protection Policies
Medical debt adversely affects many Americans. Given vague and rarely enforced federal medical debt protections, states are on the frontlines of patient medical debt protections. Unfortunately Michigan:
Does not
Does not
Does not
Does not
Does not limit the use of wage garnishments to collect a medical debt.3
Price Transparency
A survey of 2,000 hospitals nationwide from July to November 2024 found that only 2 of the 53 Michigan hospitals reviewed – just 4 % – had complied with federal regulations requiring all hospitals to post their prices online and make them easily accessible and searchable.4
The Burden of Medical Debt in Michigan
In Michigan, an average of 9 % of adults in a given year (or 690,000 people) reported having medical debt, according to a Peterson-KFF analysis of data from 2019 to 2021.5
Hospital Overcharging
On average, from 2020 to 2022, hospitals in Michigan charged patients with private insurance an average of 188 % of what they charged Medicare patients for the same services .6
Grade: #HospitalFail
Lown Institute, “Making Hospital Tax Breaks Work For Communities: An Analysis Of 20 States,” April 2025, https://lownhospitalsindex.org/report-making-hospital-tax-breaks-work-for-communities/
Lown Institute, “Hospital Financial Assistance and Debt Collection Policies,” June 2025, https://lownhospitalsindex.org/report-hospital-financial-assistance-and-debt-collection-policies/
Commonwealth Fund, “State Protections Against Medical Debt: A Look at Policies Across the U.S. in 2025,” July 2025, https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2025/jul/state-protections-against-medical-debt-look-policies-across-us
PatientRightsAdvocate.org, “Seventh Semi-Annual Hospital Price Transparency Compliance Report,” November 2024, https://www.patientrightsadvocate.org/seventh-semi-annual-hospital-price-transparency-report-november-2024 , pg. 28
Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, “Access & Affordability: The Burden of Medical Debt in the United States,”September 2024, https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/the-burden-of-medical-debt-in-the-united-states/#Share%20of%20adults%20who%20have%20medical%20debt,%20by%20state,%202019-2021
Rand Corporation, “Prices Paid to Hospitals by Private Health Plans: Findings from Round 5.1 of an Employer-Led Transparency Initiative,” December 2024, https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1144-2-v2.html
Consumers for Quality Care (CQC) is a coalition of advocates and former policymakers working to provide a voice for patients in the health care debate as they demand better care. CQC is led by a board of directors that includes the Honorable Donna Christensen, physician and former Member of Congress; Jim Manley, former senior advisor to Senators Edward Kennedy and Harry Reid; Jason Resendez, community advocate and health care strategist; and Mary L. Smith, former CEO of the Indian Health Service.
