A new report alleges that New York City’s top nonprofit hospitals spend less than 2 percent on free care for uninsured and poor patients despite receiving millions of dollars in taxpayer aid.
The city’s most wealthy hospital, New York Presbyterian, was among the most stingiest with free care according to tax documents obtained by The New York Post. While paying Executive Vice Chairman Herbert Padres $5.58 million and CEO Steven Corwin $3.58 million in 2012, the hospital spent only 1.03 percent — or $37.6 million — on free care for the uninsured. The organization also bought in $3.9 billion in revenue that same year.
The NY Post report quoted a New York Presbyterian spokeswoman who denied the allegations of stingy uninsured care, claiming that the hospital provides over $200 million to subsidize cost of care for Medicare patients. She also added that they also offer free health screenings and seminars.
Tax documents showed that of all the nonprofit hospitals in New York, Lenox Hill Hospital provided the least amount of free care, spending only $4.12 million (0.57 percent) in the 2012 Fiscal Year. The hospital took in $744.8 million that same year and also has a luxury wing that has catered to celebrity patients including Beyonce. A spokesman for North Shore-LIJ Health System, which oversees Lenox Hill, said that many of the patients at the hospital are not in need of financial assistance and that those who need it are never turned away.
These are only two of the hospitals covered in the NY Post report. To find out the others that are allegedly spending low on free care, read the full story by clicking here.
