Business
Illinois hospitals lose exemption
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 19, 2007
Two more Illinois hospitals were stripped of their property tax exemptions, bolstering the state's position as the battleground in the debate over whether nonprofit hospitals provide enough charity care.
The Illinois Dept. of Revenue in February stripped Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana and Richland Memorial Hospital in Olney of their property tax exemptions, claiming they did not provide enough charity care to be considered a nonprofit entity eligible for tax exemption.
In a prepared statement, officials from Carle Foundation vowed to appeal the decision, saying the hospital provided more than $4.9 million in free and discounted care in 2006.
Eric Toliver, a spokesman for Richland Memorial, said officials there were still assessing the situation and looking into their options and weren't yet prepared to make an official statement.
Last fall Provena Covenant Medical Center, also located in Urbana, was the first known hospital in the nation to be stripped of its property tax exemption.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/03/19/bibf0319.htm.
