A new report from the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest paints a stark picture of New York’s nonprofit hospital sector, alleging that many institutions act more like for-profit corporations, despite receiving billions in tax exemptions and charitable donations. The case study identifies systemic practices driving up healthcare costs, including high pricing, lack of transparency, aggressive medical debt collection, and heavy spending on lobbying and marketing.
By the numbers:
- Revenue vs. responsibility: In 2023, NYU Langone netted $1.3B, while New York-Presbyterian earned nearly $500M, despite multimillion-dollar “fair share deficits” that indicate they provided less charity care than the value of their tax exemptions.
- Debt lawsuits: From 2015-2020, New York hospitals sued more than 53,000 patients; Albany Medical Center garnished wages 851 times, and NYU Langone paid $18M to a collections agency in one year.
- Executive pay: CEO salaries hit record highs, such as Montefiore’s leader earning $16.3M, while peers at NYU Langone and New York-Presbyterian earned $8.8M and $9.2M respectively.
- Price opacity: In 2022, 34 of 37 NYC and Long Island hospitals failed to meet federal price transparency standards.
Between the lines: The Lown Institute noted a “segregated hospital market,” where wealthy institutions operate near underfunded safety-net hospitals yet receive disproportionate state subsidies from the Indigent Care Pool, which are funds meant to support care for uninsured patients.
Driving the news: The CMPI report also highlights millions spent on political influence and patient recruitment:
- NYU Langone spent $34M on advertising in 2019.
- Hospital associations donated $25.9M to PACs from 2018-2022, with NYU Langone stakeholders giving over $115,000 to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
What they’re saying: “Hospitals have remained in the shadows for too long,” said CMPI President Peter Pitts. “Profits cannot be placed over patient wellbeing, and revenue must not be prioritized over responsibility.”
The bottom line: CMPI is urging state and federal policymakers to tie nonprofit tax benefits to measurable charity care, cap executive compensation, mandate price transparency, and impose stricter limits on lobbying and marketing. Without reform, critics warn, New York’s nonprofit hospitals will continue to contribute to rising healthcare costs while leaving vulnerable patients behind.
