FromĀ STAT: Many of the country’s most profitable and prominent hospitals enjoy tax-exempt status even though they often fail to meet the health needs of their surrounding communities.
“The irony is thatĀ a majorityĀ of the most prominent and profitable hospitals in the United States are nonprofit, and haveĀ fought tooth and nailĀ to maintain that status even as their revenues have skyrocketed. When it comes to marketing themselves, nonprofit hospitals, many of which are academic medical centers, take no prisoners, and appear to be more interested in driving up profits than improving health.Ā Most services advertisedĀ by academic medical centers are for unproven or cosmetic procedures that generally lack a strong evidence base and are rarely accompanied by appropriate disclosures. They tend to tout the benefits but soft-shoe the risks. AĀ content analysis of advertisementsĀ from National Cancer Institute-designated centers showed that they focused on emotional manipulation even more than for-profit hospitals did, and rarely discussed the risks of treatment. When hope doesnāt work, hospitals are quickĀ to invoke fear.”
