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Posts tagged ‘Jonathan Cooper’

1
Apr

Executive Compensation at the Greater New York Hospital Association

Listening to Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, talk about the logistic nightmare of working with hospitals in the greater New York area made me curious to know more.

At the core of the problem is a hospital system where there are 2 types of hospitals:  public (which tend to be more overwhelmed right now) and private. These two separate hospital systems don’t generally work together since public hospitals are tax-exempt while private hospitals are driven by profitability.

Although public hospitals are usually referred to as non-profit hospitals, the words “non-profit” refer to their tax exempt status, not a propensity to avoid making a profit. A non-profit can report a profit; they just don’t pay taxes on the profit. Instead, the profit is treated as an addition to the general fund or what many people refer to as the endowment. In a non-profit, the wealth stays in the organization for the ultimate benefit of those served while in a for-profit, the wealth is shared by the owners or shareholders. Read more »