One might have thought that a nonprofit hospital system like ProMedica would pass it on to the public. ProMedica, Parkview, OhioHealth, Mercy: most of the consolidated regional systems in the United States, including the state university systems, were all officially nonprofit. They were supposed to serve charitable functions, receiving 501(c)(3) tax-free status from the Internal Revenue Service. That was why their profits were officially called “operating surpluses.” But there was no meaningful difference between the behaviors of for-profit giants like Hospital Corporation of America and those
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