Nonprofit hospitals do not pay federal income or state and local property taxes, and in return they benefit the community.
The various exemptions given to non-profit hospitals get scrutinized by policymakers, with the argument being whether they provide community benefits that justify forgone government tax revenues.
In 2003, of the roughly 3,900 nonfederal, short-term, acute care general hospitals in the United States, the majority—about 62 percent—were nonprofit.
[1] In exchange for tax-exemptions, estimated to total $12.6 billion in 2002, nonprofit hospitals are expected to provide community benefits.
Based on their charitable purpose and most often affiliated with a religious denomination they are a traditional means of delivering medical care in the United States.