HOSPITAL OVERCHARGES
The institutions that have raised bill paddings to a new art form are in the prosperous majority. These are the "nonprofit" hospitals, many of which now provide charity care worth less than the value of their Federal tax breaks, and the for-profit chains whose huge returns have made them a glamour stock among investors worldwide.
In short, hospital overcharges do not subsidize the care of the uninsured, for whom access is more problematic than ever. Instead, these undeserved revenues are funneled into six- and seven-figure executive salaries, lavish marketing campaigns, speculators' windfalls and the vainglory of wasteful building programs.




