Indiana bill seeks to end tax breaks for non-profit hospitals that overcharge patients
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Proposal comes after the Guardian investigated Parkview, a Fort Wayne based non-profit chain that charges some of the highest prices in the country. Indiana lawmakers are pushing to slash hospital prices after a Guardian investigation chronicled how one of the state’s largest non-profit hospital chains bought up its competition and used its market power to stick patients with some of the highest bills in the country.
A new bill introduced last week in the Indiana general assembly would strip non-profit hospitals of their tax-free status if they continue to charge commercially-insured patients more than 200% of what the federal government pays for the same services under Medicare.
If enacted, the legislation would mean millions annually in tax obligations for Parkview Health, the Fort Wayne-based non-profit hospital chain investigated by the Guardian, should it choose to maintain its high prices. Between 2011 and 2023, Parkview charged commercially-insured patients an estimated 233% of the Medicare’s reimbursement rate on average, one of the highest price levels in the country, despite its location in greater Fort Wayne, which currently ranks as the No 1 most affordable metro area to live in the United States.
The Guardian’s investigation into Parkview Health sparked a firestorm in Fort Wayne with hundreds of patients and small business owners complaining on social media, to the Guardian, and to local news outlets about their struggles with the charity hospital chain’s high prices.
