Business
Hospital faces property-tax fight
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 16, 2005
Another Illinois hospital could lose its property-tax exemption after a review board concluded that the nonprofit hospital was failing to live up to its charitable mission.
In an April 21 report, the Champaign County Board of Review said it was recommending that the Illinois Dept. of Revenue deny the tax-exempt status for Carle Foundation, a nonprofit organization that runs the 295-bed Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana as well as several other health care entities.
The report cited concerns about how much charity care the hospital provided, its pricing and collections practices and its relationship with a for-profit multispecialty physician group.
Carle Foundation estimates it would pay about $1.7 million in property taxes if it loses the exemption. In a written statement, the foundation said that would threaten its ability to serve patients. The state revenue department did not reveal any timetable for it to make a decision.
The report comes a little more than a year after the state revenue department denied a request for a charitable property tax exemption for Provena Covenant Medical Center, a nonprofit, 270-bed acute care hospital in Urbana. The revenue department's action followed the recommendation of the Champaign County review board. Provena appealed the decision and is awaiting a ruling.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/05/16/bibf0516.htm.
