Senate Committee Targets Chicago-Area Hospital Chain PDF Print E-mail
Congressional Report Questions Resurrection Health Care’s Charity Care Record

CHICAGO-- Many nonprofit hospitals differ little from for-profit hospitals - limiting care to the poor, overcharging the uninsured and providing executives with gold-plated compensation, according to research just released from the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance.
The Committee released the results of a review of ten nonprofit hospitals and hospital systems— including Chicago’s Resurrection Health Care--on the provision of charity care to the poor and uninsured. In conjunction with the release of its research, the Committee, chaired by Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), also held a hearing today in Washington focused on the merits of tax exempt status for nonprofit hospitals.

“We commend Sen. Grassley for scrutinizing Resurrection and other non-profit hospitals to determine whether they are meeting their charitable obligations,” stated Henry Bayer, Executive Director, AFSCME Council 31. “The message is clear – just being a hospital doesn’t warrant millions in tax breaks. These hospitals need to fulfill their obligation to provide care to those in their communities who need it, regardless of their ability to pay.”

Resurrection Health Care, the second largest health care system in the Chicago area, has come under criticism from local political, community and religious leaders for its low level of charity care (free or discounted care for those who can’t afford to pay), charging uninsured patients fees that are among the highest of any hospital system in the state, engaging in aggressive debt collections practices, and exorbitant executive compensation.

As Resurrection expanded, “it drastically cut the amount of charity care (free or discounted care to those who cannot afford to pay) it provided,” according to testimony submitted by AFSCME today to the Senate Finance Committee. In a recent report to the Illinois Attorney General, Resurrection reported that charity care in 2005 amounted to less than 1% of the system’s total expenses. In response to a Senate Finance Committee questionnaire, Resurrection reported paying its CEO Joseph Toomey more than $4.4 million in total compensation for the years 2002-2004.

Sen. Grassley also called upon non-profit hospital boards to pay more attention to issues such as executive compensation and the level of services provided to the community. He is considering legislative reforms that would ensure that hospital boards are more focused on these important policies.

Employees at Resurrection have been working with AFSCME Council 31 to form a union in order to have a voice in issues of quality and access in the healthcare system.

*A copy of AFSCME testimony submitted to the Committee on Finance is available upon request.
 
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