Many Illinois hospitals receive tax exemptions, but how much do they help their communities? New report takes a look
CHICAGO — Mount Sinai Hospital ranks the fourth highest among hospitals across 20 states for spending far more money on charity care and helping its community than what it saves through tax exemptions, according to a new report from the Lown Institute.
The hospital on Chicago's West Side spent an average of $78 million more a year on charity care and investing in its community than it saved from tax exemptions given to not-for-profit hospitals, between 2020 and 2022, according to the report from Lown, a Massachusetts-based think tank.
The report also identified Illinois hospitals that have done the opposite — spent less on charity care and community investment than what they saved through tax exemptions. Among the 10 biggest offenders in Illinois are Endeavor Health's hospitals in Evanston, Glenview, Highland Park and Skokie (as a group), as well as Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, among others, according to the report.
'There are a lot of hospitals that actually give back a lot more directly to their communities in meaningful ways than they enjoy in terms of the tax benefit or tax exemption, but there are unfortunately a lot of hospitals that are not, that are in deficit,' said Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute. 'We have a system where there's a lot of out of balance.'
The issue of whether hospitals should receive tax exemptions has been a topic of debate for years with some saying that many not-for-profit hospitals operate like profitable businesses and should have to pay more taxes. Hospital leaders, meanwhile, say they need the tax exemptions to continue to do important work and provide charitable care to patients who are unable to pay.
Nonprofit hospitals receive local, state and federal tax exemptions, but are required to report to the IRS each year how much money they spend to benefit their communities. In Illinois, not-for-profit hospitals don't have to pay property taxes as long as the value of their charitable services is at least equal to their property tax savings. Most hospitals in Illinois are not-for-profit.
The sometimes stark differences between hospitals in the same metropolitan area reflect a pattern in urban markets in which some hospitals with many resources 'are often inaccessible to low-income patients, while 'safety net' hospitals that serve more of these patients operate on thin margins,' according to the report.
Mount Sinai, which serves many patients who are uninsured or on Medicaid, has long been a leader when it comes to spending on charity care and on helping its community, said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, president and CEO of Sinai Chicago. In addition to caring for patients regardless of their health insurance coverage, the hospital also works to help patients such as by paying for their transportation to medical care and giving car seats to new parents in need.
'We are a safety net that doesn't do the wallet biopsy and takes care of everyone that comes through our doors,' Ezike said. 'If we're serious about narrowing some of the gaps that we see between the communities that we serve and much more affluent communities in this very same city of Chicago we need to do more, not less.'
Ezike acknowledged that it can be tough to spend so much on charity care and community support, and that the hospital is running in the red. She said the hospital relies on government funding, grants, philanthropy and corporate partnerships to help fill some of the gaps.
In response to the report's findings, Endeavor Health said in a statement Tuesday that the Lown Institute's methodology 'paints an incomplete and misleading picture.' Endeavor said Lown misrepresents the scope and impact of its work by lumping four of its hospitals together as one, and leaves out certain types of contributions Endeavor makes to its communities. Each of the hospitals surpass the state's requirements for community benefits, according to the statement.
'In 2023, Endeavor Health provided nearly $509 million in total community benefits, including charitable care, medical research, education, and initiatives addressing the social drivers of health,' Endeavor said in the statement. 'The Lown Institute applies a one-size-fits-all approach across nearly 2,000 hospitals that fails to account for local context or system-level investments.'
Advocate Health Care said in a statement Tuesday, 'We remain focused on redefining care for all, contributing $1.2 billion in charitable care and services across the Chicago area annually.' Northwestern Memorial did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Across Illinois, Lown found that 63% of private, nonprofit hospitals saved more from tax exemptions than they spent on community investment. Lown analyzed data for 140 nonprofit hospitals in Illinois, using data from the IRS and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as well as municipal property data. Lown looked at more than 1,800 hospitals across 20 states.
In all, Illinois nonprofit hospitals received an average of $2.3 billion in tax exemptions each year between 2020 and 2022, according to the report. During that same time, Illinois nonprofit hospitals spent an average of $1.4 billion a year on charity care and community investments.
The four Endeavor hospitals saved an average of $152 million more a year in tax exemptions, as a group, than they spent on charity care and on community benefit, according to Lown. Advocate Christ saved an annual average of $71 million more in tax exemptions than it spent on charity care and community benefit, Advocate Lutheran saved an average of $68 million more, and Northwestern saved an average of $50 million a year more.
Chicago-area hospitals on the other end of the list – those that spent more on community investment than they saved through tax exemptions — include Franciscan Health Olympia Fields, St. Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center, Holy Cross Hospital and Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital, according to the report.
Olympia Fields spent an average of $16 million more a year on charity care and community benefit than it received through tax exemptions, St. Bernard spent an average of $12 million more a year, and Holy Cross and Swedish hospitals each spent $11 million more a year on average, according to the report.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Business Wire
42 minutes ago
- Business Wire
Biote Names Rich Barrera to Board of Directors
IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- biote Corp.(NASDAQ: BTMD), a leading solutions provider in preventive health care through the delivery of personalized hormone optimization and therapeutic wellness, today announced that its Board of Directors has elected Rich Barrera to the Board, effective immediately. 'We are pleased to welcome Rich Barrera to Biote's Board of Directors,' said Marc Beer, Executive Chairman of Biote. 'Rich has a distinguished background as an investment professional, founding Roystone Capital in 2012 and managing investment portfolios for more than 20 years. For the past few years, we've had the pleasure of working with Rich and his team at Roystone, which is one of Biote's top institutional shareholders. Rich is fully aligned with our strategy to build long-term value for shareholders and his expertise and insights will be especially valuable as we continue to execute our growth plan.' Mr. Barrera is currently Founder and CEO of Roystone Capital, a New York City-based investment manager. Prior to founding Roystone in 2012, Mr. Barrera co-managed investment portfolios at Redwood Capital Management, LLC from 2009 to 2012 and at Glenview Capital Management from 2002 to 2009. Mr. Barrera served as Chair of the Finance Committee and member of the Audit Committee of Pacific Gas & Electric from 2019 to 2020. Mr. Barrera earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1997 and graduated from the Wharton School with a BS in Accounting and Finance in 1993. About Biote Biote is transforming healthy aging through innovative, personalized hormone optimization and therapeutic wellness solutions delivered by Biote-certified medical providers. Biote trains practitioners to identify and treat early indicators of aging conditions, an underserved global market, providing affordable symptom relief for patients and driving clinic success for practitioners. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words. Statements that are not historical in nature, including the words 'may,' 'can,' 'should,' 'will,' 'estimate,' 'plan,' 'project,' 'forecast,' 'intend,' 'expect,' 'anticipate,' 'hope,' 'believe,' 'seek,' 'target,' 'continue,' 'could,' 'might,' 'ongoing,' 'potential,' 'predict,' 'would' and other similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: anticipated benefits and successful execution of our organizational restructuring; the success of our dietary supplements to attain significant market acceptance among clinics, practitioners and their patients; our customers' reliance on certain third parties to support the manufacturing of bio-identical hormones for prescribers; our and our customers' sensitivity to regulatory, economic, environmental and competitive conditions in certain geographic regions; our ability to increase the use by practitioners and clinics of the Biote Method at the rate that we anticipate or at all; our ability to grow our business; the significant competition we face in our industry; the impact of strategic acquisitions and the implementation of our growth strategies; our limited operating history; our ability to protect our intellectual property; the heavy regulatory oversight in our industry; changes in applicable laws or regulations; changes to international tariffs, U.S. trade policy or similar government actions; geopolitical tensions; the inability to profitably expand in existing markets and into new markets; the possibility that we may be adversely impacted by other economic, business and/or competitive factors, including the impact of hurricane and other natural disasters; and future exchange and interest rates. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other risks and uncertainties described in the 'Risk Factors' section of the Biote's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC') on March 14, 2025, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2025, filed with the SEC on May 9, 2025, and other documents filed by Biote from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Biote assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Biote does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.


The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Don't cut off Medicaid for people in jail awaiting trial
Every day across this country, thousands of people presumed innocent are locked up awaiting trial. For many of them — particularly those battling substance use disorders or mental illness — that jail cell is more than just a loss of freedom. It often comes with the loss of health care coverage. In many states, Medicaid and other health care benefits are suspended or terminated the moment the patient is booked into jail. This policy puts lives at risk and creates gaps in care. And for those of us who have lived through addiction or worked alongside people in recovery, we know just how dangerous that gap can be. Our prison and jail systems need the Due Process Continuity of Care Act, because it will help maintain Medicaid coverage during pretrial incarceration. It's up to Congress to follow through and pass this important piece of legislation, to shift from a model that prioritizes severe punishment to one that prioritizes care and continuity. People are struggling and deserve a chance to get better, not get worse, simply because they were arrested. The link between incarceration and behavioral health is no coincidence. So many people end up in jail not because they're dangerous, but because they're living with untreated mental health challenges or deep in addiction and haven't gotten the help they need. And the damage doesn't stop at the jail door. When people are released, often without any plan to restart their medical benefits or reconnect to care, they walk right back into the same instability, only now with deeper trauma and fewer resources. It's no surprise that the risk of overdose skyrockets after release. Studies show people are up to 129 times more likely to die of a drug overdose in the first two weeks after leaving jail or prison. I've seen firsthand the deadly consequences when someone is locked up pretrial and loses access to their medications, therapy or support systems. People are in withdrawal. They suffer in silence and spiral without the care they relied on outside those walls. Our jails, already under-resourced and overwhelmed, have become the frontlines of a behavioral health crisis they were never built to manage. They're acting as detox centers and psychiatric hospitals by default, and that's not just unsustainable, it's inhumane. Keeping health care coverage active during pretrial incarceration isn't just the right thing to do morally, it's smart policy. It prevents needless suffering, reduces recidivism, and eases the burden on emergency services and hospitals. It helps people transition from jail back into their communities with the support they need to stay healthy and free. And ultimately, it saves money by keeping people out of crisis and out of the revolving door of the criminal legal system. Let's be clear: taking health care away from someone who hasn't yet been convicted of a crime is not justice. It's a systemic failure. If we truly believe in second chances, if we believe in treating addiction and mental illness as health issues, not criminal ones, then we have to make sure that care doesn't stop at the jailhouse door. Health care is a lifeline. Let's stop cutting that lifeline when people need it most. John Bowman is Kentucky senior campaign organizer.

Epoch Times
an hour ago
- Epoch Times
Nearly 4 Million BowFlex Dumbbells Recalled Nationwide: CPSC
Wisconsin-based Johnson Health Tech Trading Inc. is recalling around 3.84 million units of dumbbells due to a risk that 'weight plates can dislodge from the handle during use, posing an impact hazard,' the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said in a June 5 The recall applies to BowFlex-branded Model 552 (52.5 lb.) and Model 1090 (90 lb.) adjustable dumbbells. Bowflex, formerly Nautilus Inc., filed for bankruptcy in March 2024. Johnson Health Tech