http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/profit-margins-at-hospitals-rise-as-charity-care-falls-in/article_6f0b2ae6-46e9-5435-a40a-0334122ff8dc.html

Profit margins at St. Louis area hospitals rose to 4.5 percent in 2014 due to increased emergency room and outpatient visits and steep declines in charity care, according to a new report from the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition, an organization that represents area employers.

While profits increased, hospitals were less charitable, the organization found. In 2014 area hospitals spent 2.1 percent of their operating revenue on charity care, or free or reduced care for low-income individuals. In the previous year, area hospitals spent 2.93 percent of operating revenue on charity care. That’s a nearly 28 percent decline in charity care in the region, according to Karen Roth, author of the report.

For some health care advocates, a decrease in charity care is problematic because nonprofit hospitals are tax-exempt based on an expectation that they provide free care to those in need. However, the Internal Revenue Service and the state of Missouri do not have any requirements regarding how much charity care a nonprofit hospital must provide.