Nonprofit Organizations in the Health Sector

Government appears to both promote and mistrust nonprofit organizations in the health sector. Tax exemptions, subsidies, and preferential treatment in contracts support these organizations. Legislation that links the supply of charity care to tax exemptions demonstrates mistrust. In this paper, the authors argue that information asymmetries lie at the heart of the current discomfort with tax policy toward nonprofit health-care providers. The authors examine current policy in terms of the rationale for the exemption of nonprofit health-care organizations from taxes as well as the ability of government to monitor performance of these organizations.