>Bill Seeks Financial Transparency for All NJ Hospitals
For-profit and nonprofit hospitals alike would be held to same standards
By Beth Fitzgerald, March 9, 2012 in Healthcare
Seeking an across-the board remedy for how hospitals — the state’s nonprofits and for-profits alike– disclose their finances, the Senate’s Health Committee on Thursday advanced a bill that would ensure that all New Jersey hospitals follow the same rules.
Delivering medical care to the poor is at the heart of the measure as a growing number of for-profit hospitals seek a piece of the charity pie funded by taxpayer dollars.
Currently, only a handful of New Jersey’s 72 acute care hospitals are for-profits, but experts predict their numbers will grow. An increasing number of for-profits have entered the state, most notably in Hudson County, where in recent years several hospitals have switched to for-profit status in controversial moves.
The prognosis remains grim for nonprofits struggling to raise cash to modernize at a time when revenue throughout the healthcare system is being squeezed by the drive to control spending. A number of deals are in the works for-profit groups looking to take over struggling not-for-profit hospitals.
